Abstract

FERREIRA, Maria Cristina Furian  and  POTT JR., Henrique. Cardiac Myxomas. Arq Med [online]. 2009, vol.23, n.5, pp.177-180. ISSN 2183-2447.

Introduction: The cardiac myxoma (CM) is a primary tumor of the heart, often of unknown etiology prevalent in adults in the third and sixth decades of life. It is characterized by abnormal cell proliferation of multipotencial mesenchymal subendocardial cells jeopardizing the route of entry of one or both ventricles. Although its pathogenesis is poorly understood, it is known that their clinical manifestations may be varied according to topography and cardiac involvement. In this study, we intend to describe the morphologic aspects of CM and associate them to the patient’s clinical data, and to discuss the pathogenesis of MC. Methods: This retrospective study, type case series used samples of surgical resection fixed in formalin 10% from patients with echocardiographic diagnosis of MC, operated from 2007 to 2008. Results: We describe the anatomo-clinical characteristics of six cardiac myxomas of the left atrium in patients aged between 19 and 69 years. Macroscopically it were identified two anatomic types. The clinical presentation produced by the cardiac tumor included non-specific events and manifestations related to left ventricular filling obstruction or embolization to the brain vessels. It was also established that the clinical presentation correlates with the tumor aspect. Conclusions: Although the MC are histologically benign, they can be lethal due to its strategic position. its increasing incidence and morbidity is necessary to include this nosological entity in the differential diagnosis of diseases that presents as cerebral thromboembolism and heart failure syndromes. The symptoms presented by patients correlates with the appearance, size, mobility and location of the tumor.

Keywords : cardiac myxoma; pathology; anatomo-clinical correlation.

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