[Sudden death caused by a heart tumor]

Primary cardiac tumors in infancy and childhood are extremely rare. In the young age group the clinical symptoms often are variable and can make diagnosis difficult. Depending on the histological character and especially the localisation of the mass the clinical appearance may lead to the first diagnosis or at least to further investigation. While myocardial tumors (rhabdomyomas and fibromas) mainly cause rhythmic disturbances, the intracavitary tumors (like myxomas) frequently disturb hemodynamics. Echo-cardiography is the main diagnostic technique, followed by angiocardiography, computertomography and nuclearmagneticresonance imaging.