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[Atrial myxoma. Apropos a clinical case]
I Machado1, A Lourenço, F Reis
1Serviço de Cardiologia, Hospital Distrital de Guimarães.
Insights
A 61-year-old woman with hypertension and palpitations was diagnosed with left auricular myxoma using echocardiography. This case highlights echocardiography's crucial role in diagnosing and monitoring cardiac myxomas.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Oncology
- Pathology
Background:
- Cardiac myxomas are rare primary tumors of the heart, often asymptomatic but can cause significant clinical manifestations.
- Left auricular myxomas are the most common type, potentially leading to embolic events or obstructive symptoms.
Observation:
- A 61-year-old female patient presented with hypertension and palpitations, indicative of potential cardiac pathology.
- Echocardiography revealed a mass consistent with a left auricular myxoma, prompting further investigation.
Findings:
- Histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of left auricular myxoma post-echocardiographic identification.
- The study emphasizes the diagnostic accuracy of echocardiography for cardiac myxomas.
Implications:
- Echocardiography is a vital non-invasive tool for the early detection and characterization of cardiac myxomas.
- Timely diagnosis and surgical management of auricular myxomas are essential to prevent complications such as stroke or heart failure.
Abstract:
The authors report a case of a 61-years-old woman with hypertension and palpitations, who was diagnosed as having a left auricular myxoma. This diagnosis was established by echocardiography and confirmed afterwards by an histological survey. On the basis of this case the authors reviewed the subject and discuss the role of echocardiography in the diagnosis and follow-up of this kind of patients.