Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 8, 2026
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Suspected Cardiac Thrombus: Conventional and Emerging Techniques
Published on: June 11, 2019
Stroke of a cardiac myxoma origin
Shi-Min Yuan1, Gulimila Humuruola2
1Fujian Medical University, Putian, China.
Insights
Cardiac myxoma stroke, a rare condition often affecting young women, requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Early surgical resection of cardiac myxoma is recommended to improve outcomes and reduce risks like arterial embolism.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Vascular Medicine
Background:
- Cardiac myxoma stroke is a rare neurological event with incompletely understood clinical features, treatment strategies, and outcomes.
- Existing literature lacks comprehensive descriptions of this condition, necessitating further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the clinical characteristics of cardiac myxoma stroke.
- To review treatment options, timing, and clinical outcomes.
- To highlight key aspects of this rare condition for improved clinical management.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Highwire Press.
- The search focused on studies published between 2000 and 2014 concerning cardiac myxoma stroke.
Main Results:
- Cardiac myxoma stroke predominantly affects young adults, particularly females, often involving the middle cerebral artery and multiple brain territories.
- Common clinical manifestations include altered consciousness, ataxia, hemiparesis/hemiplegia, aphasia, and dysarthria.
- Delayed surgery increased risks, including arterial embolism, with a 15.3% mortality rate. MRI demonstrated higher diagnostic accuracy than CT for cerebral infarction.
Conclusions:
- Cardiac myxoma stroke is rare, predominantly affecting young females, and necessitates advanced imaging like MRI and echocardiography for accurate diagnosis.
- Early surgical resection of cardiac myxoma is advised for patients without large cerebral infarcts.
- Prompt thrombolytic therapy may significantly improve neurological function and resolve cerebral stroke.
Objective:
The clinical features of cardiac myxoma stroke have not been sufficiently described. Debates remain concerning the options and timing of treatment and the clinical outcomes are unknown. This article aims to highlight the pertinent aspects of this rare condition.
Methods:
Data source of the present study came from a comprehensive literature collection of cardiac myxoma stroke in PubMed, Google search engine and Highwire Press for the year range 2000-2014.
Results:
Young adults, female predominance, single cerebral vessel (mostly the middle cerebral artery), multiple territory involvements and solitary left atrial myxoma constituted the outstanding characteristics of this patient setting. The most common affected cerebral vessel (the middle cerebral artery) and areas (the basal ganglion, cerebellum and parietal and temporal regions) corresponded well to the common manifestations of this patient setting, such as conscious alteration, ataxia, hemiparesis and hemiplegia, aphasia and dysarthria. Initial computed tomography scan carried a higher false negative rate for the diagnosis of cerebral infarction than magnetic resonance imaging did. A delayed surgical resection of cardiac myxoma was associated with an increased risk of potential consequences in particular otherwise arterial embolism. The mortality rate of this patient population was 15.3%.
Conclusion:
Cardiac myxoma stroke is rare. Often does it affect young females. For an improved diagnostic accuracy, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and echocardiography are imperative for young stroke patients in identifying the cerebral infarct and determining the stroke of a cardiac origin. Immediate thrombolytic therapy may completely resolve the cerebral stroke and improve the neurologic function of the patients. An early surgical resection of cardiac myxoma is recommended in patients with not large territory cerebral infarct.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Myocarditis I: Introduction
01:13Structure of Cardiac Muscles
Compared to skeletal muscles, cardiac muscle cells are small and mostly have a single nucleus. Additionally, they are usually...
01:22Mitral Stenosis I: Introduction