Metastatic carcinoid tumor obstructing left ventricular outflow

Cardiac tumors are rare and usually indicate metastatic disease. Characterizing a tumor and reaching an exact diagnosis can be difficult. Diagnosis has been aided greatly by advances in imaging, such as cardiovascular magnetic resonance with the use of gadolinium-pentetic acid. Carcinoid tumors are neuroendocrine neoplasms that are found most often in the intestinal tract, although they can also develop in the lung, stomach, or heart. Herein, we report the case of a 72-year-old woman with a history of intestinal carcinoid disease and presenting symptoms of dizziness, fatigue, and chest pain. We used cardiovascular magnetic resonance with gadolinium enhancement to identify a large mass obstructing left ventricular outflow. The histopathologic results of an endomyocardial biopsy confirmed that the mass was a left-sided metastatic carcinoid cardiac tumor. To our knowledge, we are reporting the 1st combined use of clinical evaluation, cardiovascular magnetic resonance, and histopathologic studies to reach such a diagnosis.