Right Ventricular Myxoma

To the Editor: Metastatic tumors that invade the heart occur 20 to 40 times more frequently than primary tumors. Of the primary cardiac tumors, 75 percent are benign, and of these benign tumors, myxomas are the most common. The remaining primary cardiac tumors are malignant, the overwhelming majority of which are sarcomas. Cardiac sarcomas arise from the right side of the heart in 25 percent of reported cases, whereas myxomas arise from right-sided cardiac structures in only 5 percent of cases. 1 – 4 Thus, an intracavitary tumor that obstructs the right ventricular outflow tract is about 300 times more likely to . . .