Cardiac tumours: an observational study

We studied 38 patients with cardiac tumours. Of these, 30 had primary cardiac tumours while the rest had secondary tumours. The commonest manifestations in patients with primary tumours were exertional breathlessness (23), fever (9), mitral diastolic murmur (15), loud pulmonary component of the second heart sound (16), and mitral systolic murmur (21). Left atrial myxoma was the commonest diagnosis (24) followed by left ventricular leiomyoma (2), right atrial myxoma (2, one with RA and RV both), RV myxoma (1), and left ventricular haemangioma (1). The commonest modes of presentation of secondary cardiac tumours were atrial extrasystoles (5) and pericardial friction rub (4). Histopathological reports revealed bronchogenic carcinoma (4), breast carcinoma (2), seminoma of the testis (1) and lymphoma (1). The unexpectedly low number of secondary cardiac tumours in this series is attributed to the lack of routine autopsy studies in our institute.