Rapid growth of a left atrial myxoma. Serial two-dimensional echocardiographic observation over eighteen months

We encountered a patient with rapid progressing left atrial myxoma in whom two-dimensional echocardiography was serially obtained over eighteen months. The horizontal and longitudinal diameters showed a linear 2.5 fold increase, while the size of the base attached to the left atrial wall remained unchanged. Therefore, the last echocardiogram obtained just before surgery showed the characteristic pendular motion of left atrial myxoma.