Atrial myxoma in a family

A family is described in which the mother and three of seven children had atrial myxoma. The mother had biatrial myxoma; surgical treatment resulted in massive intraoperative embolization and death. Surgery was successful in two sons with left atrial myxoma and systemic arterial embolization. A third son had calcified right atrial myxoma with destruction of the tricuspid valve and episodes of syncope and pulmonary embolism; surgery, including valve replacement, was successful. The mother's father and a brother had died suddenly without a definite diagnosis. The family data are consistent with dominant transmission. The possibility of finding affected relatives should be borne in mind when studying patients with atrial myxoma.