Cardiac Myxomas

Primary tumors of the heart are rare, with an incidence between 0.0017 and 0.19 percent in unselected patients at autopsy. 1 – 5 Three quarters of the tumors are benign. 1 , 6 – 8 Nearly half the benign heart tumors are myxomas, and the majority of the rest are lipomas, papillary fibroelastomas, and rhabdomyomas. Fibromas, hemangiomas, teratomas, and mesotheliomas of the atrioventricular node are found less frequently; granular-cell tumors, neurofibromas, and lymphangiomas are very rare. 6 Whereas rhabdomyomas are the most common primary tumors of the heart in children, myxomas clearly predominate in adults. A left atrial myxoma was first described in 1845. 9 Before 1951, . . .