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J Cardiovasc Echogr 2018 Oct-Dec;28(4):236-238

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.

Papillary fibroelastoma is a rare benign cardiac tumor, second after cardiac myxoma as more frequent cardiac valvular tumor. The therapy is usually based on surgery according to size, mobility, symptoms, and risks of surgery. We report the case of a 67-year old female with transient ischemic attack. Read More

Cardiovasc J Afr 2019 Feb 6;30:1-4. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

Sporadic ca rdiac myxomas rarely recur, however recurrence rates are higher in patients with a familial aggregation or Carney complex. Carney complex is characterised by multiple mucocutaneous lesions and accounts for up to two-thirds of familial cardiac myxomas. A second recurrence is very rare, even in the case of Carney complex. Read More

J Cardiothorac Surg 2019 Feb 4;14(1):30. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Cardiac Surgery Department, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, 100044, China.

Background: Primary cardiac sarcomas are exceedingly rare, and they commonly result in nonspecific constitutional symptoms such as shortness of breath, weight loss, and anaemia-related fatigue and malaise. However, thrombocytopenia has very rarely been reported in association with cardiac tumours, either benign or malignant. We report one case of primary cardiac synovial sarcoma continuous with the mitral valve, which was accompanied by severe thrombocytopenia, and the platelet counts returned rapidly to a normal range early after tumour excision and without any special therapies. Read More

J Cardiovasc Imaging 2019 Jan;27(1):37-47

Division of Cardiology, Hospital of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires Dr. Cosme Argerich, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Background: Cardiac myxomas are the most frequent cardiac tumors. Although histologically benign, in some cases myxomas may be lethal, due to impairment of cardiac dynamics and their thromboembolic potential. The study aimed to assess the clinical presentation of cardiac myxomas and their correlation with echocardiographic features and to describe the perioperative results and long-term outcome of surgically treated patients. Read More

J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 2019 Feb;32(2):197-202

Department of Pediatrics of Centro Hospitalar de São João, Porto, Portugal.

Background Primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD) is a rare cause of Cushing's syndrome (CS). It may occur sporadically or as part of a familial syndrome called Carney complex (CC). It is a rare entity, with fewer than 750 cases reported. Read More

Kardiol Pol 2019 ;77(1):63

1st Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.

Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2019 Jan 22:218492319827658. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

2 Damascus University Cardiac Surgery Hospital, Damascus, Syria.

Primary cardiac tumors are rare, and myxomas represent the most common type. Myxoma in a child is very rare. Herein, we present the case of a 4-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a right atrial mass two months after open-heart surgery for removal of a supra-mitral ring and repair of an interatrial septum aneurysm. Read More

Clin Imaging 2018 Dec 10;54:112-115. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Radiology Department, USA. Electronic address:

We present a 36-year-old man who presented to our emergency department with acute onset shortness of breath and syncope. He was found to have a large left atrial mass on initial computed tomography (CT) which was confirmed by echocardiography. Tumor biopsy and attempted excision were performed, showing a primary cardiac spindle cell sarcoma that was unable to be resected, to which the patient eventually succumbed to. Read More

J Card Surg 2019 Jan 9;34(1):14-19. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Department of Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Background: We sought to analyze clinical features and surgical results of 10 cases of cardiac myxomas in Carney complex (CNC).

Methods: Between January 2003 and December 2013, 10 patients with cardiac myxomas in CNC underwent surgical resection. Associated cardiac lesions included moderate and severe mitral regurgitation in two cases, and moderate tricuspid regurgitation in one case. Read More

J Cardiothorac Surg 2018 Dec 29;13(1):133. Epub 2018 Dec 29.

Department of Cardiac Surgery, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100037, China.

Background: The totally thoracoscopic procedure for mitral valve (MV) disease is a minimally invasive method. We investigated the procedure's feasibility, safety and effectiveness when it was performed by an experienced operator.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed 53 consecutive patients with MV disease treated between December 2014 and April 2017 by minimally invasive procedures. Read More

Heart 2018 Dec 28. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece.

Question: What is the most likely diagnosis?Mitral stenosis.Pericardial cyst.Left atrial appendage aneurysm. Read More

Med Hypotheses 2019 Jan 12;122:5-7. Epub 2018 Oct 12.

Department of Molecular Pathology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address:

Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is markedly more common in women than men, and its occurrence and risk for poorer prognosis are associated with pregnancy. Further, it is known that there is a high frequency of co-occurrence of DTC and breast cancer. Although the underlying mechanisms that contribute to these phenomena are not entirely clear, 2 hypotheses are proposed here. Read More

Rev Esp Patol 2019 Jan - Mar;52(1):50-53. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Department of Pathology, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.

Heart neoplasms are uncommon and usually benign. Hamartoma of mature cardiac myocytes is an unusual lesion with only a few reported cases. It is a heterogeneous mixture of well-differentiated myocytes, fibroblasts, adipocytes and blood vessels. Read More

CASE (Phila) 2018 Dec 22;2(6):262-265. Epub 2018 Sep 22.

Department of Anesthesiology, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire.

J Crit Care Med (Targu Mures) 2018 Apr 1;4(2):64-67. Epub 2018 Apr 1.

Department of Internal Medicine, Mostoles University Hospital, Mostoles, Spain.

Although cardiac tumours are uncommon, cardiac myxomas account for more than fifty percent of all cases and are the most frequent primary cardiac tumour. They have a broad clinical spectrum, usually related to cardiac symptoms, peripheral embolic events or systemic manifestations. We present a case report of a 68-year-old man who presented with systemic symptoms and analytical features suggestive of an autoimmune disease. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Dec;97(51):e13451

Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.

Rationale: Left atrial myxoma is a common primary cardiac tumor, however, due to poor image quality or atypical myxoma images, it is often misdiagnosed by echocardiograph. A case of left atrial myxoma being misdiagnosed as a thrombus, which successively caused acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke, is very rare. Contrast-enhanced echocardiography can play an important role in definitive diagnosis. Read More

Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) 2018 Dec;64(12):1077-1080

Clinical Emergency Unit - InCor - HCFMUSP - São Paulo, SP, Brasil.

Objective: Cardiac myxoma is a benign neoplasm, which corresponds to the most common primary heart tumour, responsible for about 50% of the cases. In general, 75-80% of myxomas are located in the left atrium, 18% in the right atrium, and more rarely in the ventricles or multicentric. Right atrial myxoma, in particular, can obstruct the tricuspid valve, causing symptoms of right heart failure, peripheral oedema, hepatic congestion, and syncope. Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2019 Jan 2;107(1):e15-e17. Epub 2018 Jul 2.

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut; Department of Surgery, Section of Cardiac Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Myxoma, the most common adult primary cardiac tumor, can manifest with profound symptoms. The preferred treatment of symptomatic myxoma is surgical resection, which can be curative. Preoperatively, multimodality imaging provides crucial information on the number, size, location, and proximity of myxoma or myxomas to adjacent structures, thereby facilitating an optimal operative approach. Read More

Front Oncol 2018 21;8:540. Epub 2018 Nov 21.

Department of Coronary and Structural Heart Diseases, Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland.

A 62-years-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of chronic cough, expectoration of thick mucus, hoarseness and tightness in the precordial area. Computed Tomography (CT) examination revealed the presence of a giant intrapericardial tumor with the dimensions of 80 × 38 × 32 mm. It was located anteriorly and laterally to the left atrium, posteriorly to the pulmonary trunk and the ascending aorta. Read More

Rom J Morphol Embryol 2018 ;59(3):903-909

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Romania;

A 46-year-old female diagnosed several years ago with arterial hypertension and an ischemic stroke with significant recovery was admitted for dyspnea on usual physical activity and fatigue. Physical examination revealed signs of heart failure with crackles on both lung bases, distented jugular veins, accentuated pulmonic valve closure (P2) and tricuspid regurgitation murmur. Echocardiography identified a large tumor in the left atrium, suggestive of atrial myxoma, which caused a severe functional mitral stenosis and produced severe pulmonary hypertension. Read More

J Med Case Rep 2018 Dec 8;12(1):363. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Cardiothoracic Surgery, Weiss Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL, USA.

Background: Myxomas account for approximately half of all primary cardiac neoplasms. Most occur in the left atrium and only rarely are attached to the mitral valve, with just over 30 such cases reported in the literature. These neoplasms can manifest with a combination of obstruction of blood flow, systemic embolization, and constitutional symptoms. Read More

BMC Pediatr 2018 Nov 28;18(1):373. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, One Children's Place, Campus Box 8116-NWT, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.

Background: Cardiac tumors are uncommon in the pediatric population. When present, cardiac manifestations stem from the tumor causing inflow or outflow obstruction. While common in adults, cardiac myxomas presenting with generalized systemic illness or peripheral emboli especially with no cardiac or neurological symptoms are rare in children. Read More

J Nepal Health Res Counc 2018 Oct 30;16(3):257-263. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) Dharan-18, Sunsari, Nepal.

Background: Only few dedicated cardiac centres provide cardiac surgery service in Nepal. We are the only government affiliated centre outside the capital providing this service. In this study, we aim to present our early results of cardiac surgery. Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2018 Nov 14. Epub 2018 Nov 14.

Division of Cardiac Surgery, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.

Am J Case Rep 2018 Nov 16;19:1366-1369. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Fifth Surgical Clinic, Department of Surgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.

BACKGROUND Carney complex (CNC) is a genetic disorder that presents as an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-independent variant of endogenous Cushing syndrome. It was first reported in 1985 and was described as a form of multiple endocrine hyperplasia associated with mutations of the c-AMP-dependent protein kinase (PRKAR1A) gene that causes bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. We report a case of an incidentally found CNC in a 35-year-old male, and this case report focuses on the diagnostic scheme as well as the surgical treatment of this rare challenging condition. Read More

Interv Neuroradiol 2018 Nov 4:1591019918808026. Epub 2018 Nov 4.

Division of Interventional Neuroradiology, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, USA.

Myxomas are slowly growing benign neoplasms and represent the most common tumor of the heart. Embolism from cardiac myxoma occurs in 30-45% of patients and in at least half of the cases cerebral arteries are affected leading mainly to embolic ischemic strokes and rarely to delayed intracranial aneurysm formation. We present two cases with delayed intracranial aneurysmal formation 14 years and 18 years after cardiac myxoma resection. Read More

Cardiol J 2018 ;25(5):652-654

Department of Cardiac Surgery, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Valladolid, Spain..

Proteomics Clin Appl 2019 Jan 12;13(1):e1700167. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Research Center for Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Campus "S. Venuta,", Viale Europa, Loc. Germaneto, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.

Purpose: The application of a methodology for quantitative protein analysis from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue by using hydrogels. Miniaturized polymeric gels are placed onto histologically defined tissue regions in order to perform localized digestion for bottom-up proteomics. Hydrogel-extracted peptides are then labeled with tandem mass tags (TMT) reagents for relative protein quantification. Read More

J Surg Case Rep 2018 Oct 29;2018(10):rjy288. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Cardiovascular Centre, St Thomas' Hospital, Westminster Bridge Road, London, UK.

Cardiac tumours represent around 0.2% of tumours overall, and primary cardiac tumours are even more uncommon. We report the case of a 72-year-old female with a 7 cm × 4 cm right atrial mass which was prolapsing through the tricuspid valve. Read More

Echocardiography 2018 12 30;35(12):2106-2108. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.

Left atrial (LA) masses are known to be associated with peripheral embolization. Accurate identification of etiology is crucial because treatment strategies may differ. We present the case of a young woman, who was initially diagnosed with a LA thrombus and anticoagulated. Read More

J Invasive Cardiol 2018 Nov;30(11):E130

Department of Cardiology, AZ Sint-Lucas, Ghent, Belgium.

A 73-year-old woman presented with exertional chest pain and mild dyspnea for several months. In this case, preoperative coronary angiography showed neovascularization originating from the right coronary artery (RCA) and left circumflex (LCX). Vascular supply in left atrial myxomas usually originates from the LCX and sometimes from the RCA, but vascular supply from both the right and left coronary arteries is rarely seen. Read More

Case Rep Cardiol 2018 1;2018:9231256. Epub 2018 Oct 1.

Providence Hospital, Southfield, MI, USA.

Primary cardiac tumors are extremely rare and are difficult to diagnose. Although usually benign in nature, myxomas require surgical resection due to their increased risk of embolic and cardiac complications, with the timing of resection dependent on the presentation and size of the tumor. However, if diagnosed early, patients with primary benign cardiac tumors have excellent prognosis following surgery. Read More

Surg J (N Y) 2018 Oct 16;4(4):e176-e181. Epub 2018 Oct 16.

Department of Cardiac Surgery, Heart Center, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.

 The decision to operate cardiac tumors is an issue of balancing surgical outcome and survival with quality of life (QOL). We report our single-center experience in managing primary cardiac tumors between 1994 and 2014.  In this study, 269 patients were subjected to our standardized operative protocols, preoperative preparations, postoperative follow-up, and consents of participation. Read More

Cardiol Res 2018 Oct 7;9(5):307-313. Epub 2018 Oct 7.

Department of Cardiology, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron, OH, USA.

Cardiac intimal sarcomas are extremely rare, remarkably aggressive and least reported type of primary malignant tumors of the heart. Cardiac intimal sarcomas are encountered more commonly in the large arterial blood vessels including pulmonary artery and aorta, and are extremely rare in the heart. The mainstay of treatment is achievement of tumor-free margins with surgical resection, which is associated with improved survival. Read More

Front Neurol 2018 3;9:823. Epub 2018 Oct 3.

Department of Neurology and Stroke, and Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

Cardiac myxoma (CM) is the most frequent, cardiac benign tumor and is associated with enhanced risk for cerebrovascular events (CVE). Although surgical CM excision is the only curative treatment to prevent CVE recurrence, in recent reports conservative treatment with antiplatelet or anticoagulant agents in high-risk patients with CM-related CVE has been discussed. Case records at the University Hospital of Tübingen between 2005 and 2017 were screened to identify patients with CM-related CVE. Read More

Ann Card Anaesth 2018 Oct-Dec;21(4):437-439

Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

We are presenting a case of the right atrial myxoma found in a case of rheumatic heart disease. During transthoracic echocardiography for the evaluation of a suspected rheumatic valvular heart disease, a diagnosis of severe mitral stenosis with severe mitral regurgitation with the right atrial thrombus was made. On transesophageal echocardiography, a pedunculated mass in the right atrium was confirmed. Read More

N Engl J Med 2018 Oct;379(16):e26

Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Upland, PA

Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed) 2018 Oct 10. Epub 2018 Oct 10.

Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB-Arrixaca), Universidad de Murcia, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Murcia, Spain.

Ann Thorac Surg 2018 Oct 10. Epub 2018 Oct 10.

Department of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Foundation "I.R.C.C.S. Policlinico San Matteo", University of Pavia, School of Medicine, Pavia, Italy.

We report the case of a woman with pulmonary embolism due to a cardiac mass. Echocardiography, CT scan and cardiac magnetic resonance raised the suspicion of right atrial myxoma and confirmed the presence of pulmonary embolism. The patient was sent to Pavia, where the atrial myxoma was excised, and using interrupted periods of circulatory arrest, extraction of the myxoma emboli from the pulmonary arteries was performed. Read More

Heart Surg Forum 2018 Sep 25;21(5):E401-E403. Epub 2018 Sep 25.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Biruni University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

Background: Primary cardiac sarcoma is a rare and atypical clinical entity. We present a patient with long-term remission after primary cardiac sarcoma resection.

Case Report: A 42-year-old previously healthy female presented to the emergency department after an effort-induced 30-minute episode of chest pain and extreme shortness of breath. Read More

Heart Surg Forum 2018 Sep 13;21(5):E370-E374. Epub 2018 Sep 13.

Cardiovascular Surgery Department, Medical Faculty, Yüzüncü Yıl University, Van, Turkey.

Objective: Although seen rarely compared to all tumors, cardiac tumors are tumors which may have a mortal course with possible complications. The most common cardiac tumor in adults is myxoma with its benign character. The results of cardiac tumors resected with open cardiac surgery in our center are reported in this study. Read More

J Card Surg 2018 Nov 10;33(11):741-743. Epub 2018 Oct 10.

Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Sep;97(39):e12546

Department of Cardiology, Maoming People's Hospital, Maoming, China.

Rationale: Syncope is a complicated clinical condition involving various diseases. Syncope due to myxoma-like right atrial thrombus is rarely seen in patient without structural heart disease.

Patient Concerns: A 61-year-old ambulant old male visited our emergency department for sudden syncope. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Sep;97(39):e12543

Department of Anesthesiology, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.

Rationale: Myxoma is the most common primary benign cardiac tumor, which could lead to some fatal complications because of its strategic position.

Patient Concerns: The patient was admitted to our hospital due to sudden onset of palpitation, chest tightness, mild fever, night sweats, accompanied with bilateral lower extremities adynamia, and paralysis for 5 days, but no obvious syncope and edema.

Diagnoses: Transthoracic echocardiography showed a giant mobile myxoma (72 × 58 mm) in the right atrium (RA). Read More

Ann Pediatr Cardiol 2018 Sep-Dec;11(3):318-321

Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.

We are reporting the case of a newborn with a diagnosis of frequent supraventricular extrasystoles, up to 25% of beats at Holter monitoring, and partial response to beta-blockers. Initial echocardiographic studies were normal until the identification of a right atrial mass at 4 months of life. Given the progressive growth of the mass and the suspicion of myxoma or thrombus in the magnetic resonance study, surgical resection of the tumor was performed. Read More

AME Case Rep 2017 27;1. Epub 2017 Oct 27.

Department of Internal Medicine, New York Medical College at St Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Paterson, New Jersey, USA.

Metastatic tumors are the most common tumors affecting the heart. Primary tumors are rare, with myxomas being the most common of the primary cardiac tumors. The incidence of primary cardiac tumors is 0. Read More

Oncol Lett 2018 Oct 25;16(4):4235-4242. Epub 2018 Jul 25.

Department of Cardiac Surgery, Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350001, P.R. China.

The profile of differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in the serum of patients with cardiac myxoma (CM) (n=30) and healthy people (n=30) was studied using miRNA microarray analysis. The expression of the candidate miRNAs was validated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in the serum of 30 CM patients and 30 healthy control individuals. TargetScan, PicTar and miRanda were used to predict the possible target gene of miR-320a. Read More

Oncol Lett 2018 Oct 25;16(4):4635-4639. Epub 2018 Jul 25.

Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571199, P.R. China.

Atrial myxoma is the most common type of primary cardiac tumor and it is closely associated with stroke in adults. Early diagnosis and treatment of atrial myxomas is essential for the prevention of embolic events. The aim of the present study was to assess neurological complications associated with atrial myxoma. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Sep;97(37):e12397

First Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery.

Cardiac myxoma (CM) is the most common benign cardiac tumor. We retrospectively reviewed our single center experience in 153 patients with CM over a period 25 years.From November 1993 to May 2017, 153 patients were operated in our institution with diagnosis of a CM. Read More