[Diagnostic and clinical features of atrial myxoma (author's transl)]

The most common benign cardiac tumours are artial myxomas. Characteristically they may interfere with the normal functioning of atrioventricular valves or manifest themselves by embolism to cerebral or peripheral arteries or they may mimic systemic diseases. Hence, early diagnosis and immediate surgical treatment are important. A case of left atrial myxoma is reported and the various non-invasive and invasive diagnositc methods and their significance are outlined. If the angiocardiographic findings are questionable, the echocardiographic features are believed to be of greater reliability. Finally, the histopathology of atrial myxoma, the rate of tumour growth, as well as the possibility of postoperative reappearance of the myxoma are discussed.