Cardiac myxomas: clinical presentation, diagnosis and management

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Cardiac myxomas (CM) are the most frequent primary cardiac tumors in adults.
• They originate from multipotent mesenchyme and typically present as atrial masses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the literature on cardiac myxomas.
• Covering clinical presentation, diagnosis, management, and prognosis.

Main Methods:

• Literature review summarizing existing studies on cardiac myxomas.
• Analysis of clinical, imaging (echocardiogram, CT, MRI), and histopathological findings.

Main Results:

• Cardiac myxomas can cause diverse symptoms, including constitutional, embolic, and obstructive signs.
• Diagnosis relies on a combination of clinical presentation, imaging, and histopathology (CD31, CD34 positive).

Conclusions:

• Prompt surgical resection offers an excellent prognosis for cardiac myxomas.
• Post-surgical survival rates are comparable to the general population.