[An 80-year-old woman with dyspnoea caused by cardiac myxoma]

An 80-year-old woman presented with general malaise and dyspnoea that has persisted for 2 months. Physical examination, laboratory tests, chest X-ray and ECG were normal, but tachycardia was not. A CT scan of the thorax performed due to suspicion of pulmonary embolism revealed a lesion in the right atrium and no other abnormalities. Echocardiography confirmed the presence of the tumour and also showed pulmonary hypertension. Cardiac myxoma was considered and the tumour was surgically removed. The patient recovered completely but the dyspnoea persisted. Cardiac myxoma is often difficult to confirm. Clinical presentation of a myxoma is determined by its location, size and mobility. Symptoms are a result of mechanical obstruction, embolism or constitutional effects. Treatment consists of surgical removal of the myxoma due to the associated risk of embolism and sudden death.