Mechanical endovascular treatment of acute stroke due to cardiac myxoma
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Updated: May 20, 2026
Optimized Management of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Published on: January 18, 2018
Sara Garcia-Ptacek1, Jordi A Matias-Guiu, Cristina Valencia-Sánchez
1Department of Neurology, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
Background:
Myxomas are rare cardiac tumors which often present with stroke caused by tumorous or thrombotic emboli. Treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and intra-arterial thrombolysis has been described previously but mechanical thrombectomy has not yet been reported, and treatment of myxoma-related ischemic stroke remains a clinical and technical challenge.
Methods:
Two patients with ischemic stroke due to cardiac myxoma in which mechanical thrombectomy was performed are presented.
Results:
Endovascular thrombectomy after intravenous rtPA (bridging therapy) was safely achieved in both cases, although with different clinical outcomes and degrees of recanalization.
Conclusions:
In stroke secondary to cardiac myxoma, mechanical thrombectomy might represent a safe and effective treatment option. The authors suggest the use of histological examination of the clot for diagnosis as its composition may explain the differences in treatment outcome.
