Atrial myxomas are the most common primary heart tumors. Because of nonspecific symptoms, early diagnosis may be a challenge. Left atrial myxoma may or may not produce characteristic findings on auscultation. Two-dimensional echocardiography is the diagnostic procedure of choice. Most atrial myxomas are benign and can be removed by surgical resection.
NextPathophysiologyMyxomas account for 40-50% of primary cardiac tumors. Approximately 90% are solitary and pedunculated, and 75-85% occur in the left atrial cavity. Up to 25% of cases are found in the right atrium. Most cases are sporadic. Approximately 10% are familial and are transmitted in an autosomal dominant mode. Multiple tumors occur in approximately 50% of familial cases and are more frequently located in the ventricle (13% vs 2% in sporadic cases).
Myxomas are polypoid, round, or oval. They are gelatinous with a smooth or lobulated surface and usually are white, yellowish, or brown. The most common site of attachment is at the border of the fossa ovalis in the left atrium, although myxomas can also originate from the posterior atrial wall, the anterior atrial wall, or the atrial appendage. The mobility of the tumor depends upon the extent of attachment to the interatrial septum and the length of the stalk.
Although atrial myxomas are typically benign, local recurrence due to inadequate resection or malignant change has been reported. Occasionally, atrial myxomas recur at a distant site because of intravascular tumor embolization. The risk of recurrence is higher in the familial myxoma syndrome.[1]
Symptoms from a cardiac myxoma are more pronounced when the myxomas are left-sided, racemosus, and over 5 cm in diameter.[2] Symptoms are produced by mechanical interference with cardiac function or embolization. Being intravascular and friable, myxomas account for most cases of tumor embolism. Embolism occurs in about 30-40% of patients. The site of embolism is dependent upon the location (left or right atrium) and the presence of an intracardiac shunt.
Jong-Won Ha and associates reported a more frequent occurrence of systemic embolism in polypoid tumors as compared to round (58% vs 0%).[3] Also, polypoid tumors more frequently prolapse into the ventricle. Prolapse of a tumor through the mitral or tricuspid valve may result in the destruction of the annulus or valve leaflets. In one study, 19% of the patients had atrial fibrillation associated with large atrial myxoma. Left atrial myxomas produce symptoms when they reach about 70 g. Right atrial myxomas grow to approximately twice this size before becoming symptomatic. Tumors vary widely in size, ranging from 1-15 cm in diameter. Rate of growth is not exactly known. In one case report, right atrial myxoma had a growth rate of 1.36 X 0.03 cm/mo. The myxomas are vascular tumors and may be neovascularized by a branch of a coronary artery.[4] Recently, a case of hemorrhage in a left atrial myxoma was reported.[5]
Myxomas have been demonstrated to produce numerous growth factors and cytokines, including vascular endothelial growth factor, resulting in angiogenesis and tumor growth and an increased expression of the inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-6.[6, 7, 8]
PreviousNextEpidemiologyFrequencyUnited StatesBased upon the data of 22 large autopsy series, the prevalence of primary cardiac tumors is approximately 0.02% (200 tumors per million autopsies). About 75% of primary tumors are benign, and 50% of benign tumors are myxomas, resulting in 75 cases of myxoma per million autopsies.
InternationalSurgical incidence in the Republic of Ireland from 1977-1991 was 0.50 atrial myxomas per million population per year.
Mortality/MorbiditySudden death may occur in 15% patients with atrial myxoma. Death is typically caused by coronary or systemic embolization or by obstruction of blood flow at the mitral or tricuspid valve. Morbidity is related to symptoms produced by tumor embolism, heart failure, mechanical valvular obstruction, and various constitutional symptoms. SexApproximately 75% of sporadic myxomas occur in females. In a series of 66 cardiac myxomas, the female-to-male ratio was 2.7:1.[9] Female sex predominance is less pronounced in familial atrial myxomas.AgeMyxomas have been reported in patients aged 3-83 years.The mean age for sporadic cases is 56 years. In a retrospective review of 171 patients from India, the mean age of presentation was 37.1 years. Most of these patients were symptomatic; dyspnea was the most common symptom.[10] The mean age for familial cases is 25 years.PreviousProceed to Clinical Presentation , Atrial Myxoma
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