Table 1.
Features of benign primary cardiac tumor.
| Type of Tumor | Common Age | Common Gender | Most Common Site | Echo Features | CT Features | CMR Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myxoma | Middle age (30–60 y); younger if associated with Carney complex |
Females | Left atrium; attached to the fossa ovalis | Heterogeneous; narrow pedicle; regular mobile throughout the cardiac cycle | Heterogeneous; low-attenuation; calcification seen in 10–20% of patients | Smooth, well-defined, lobular or oval; heterogeneous; isointense on T1WI; hyperintense on T2WI; heterogeneous enhancement |
| Papillary fibroelastoma | 40–80 y | Men | Cardiac valves | Small (usually <1.5 cm); round; well-circumscribed; homogeneously textured appearance; a short pedicle; shimmering edges | Difficult to observe | Difficult to observe |
| Lipoma | No defined age distribution | No defined sex distribution | Left heart; subendocardial layer | Usually hypoechoic in the pericardial space, homogenous and hyperechoic in cardiac chambers; broad base; immobile; well-circumscribed | Homogeneous fat attenuation; well-defined; smooth; encapsulated; no contrast enhanced | Homogeneous hyperintense on T1WI and complete signal loss in fat suppression sequence; hyperintensity on T2WI; no enhancement |
| Rhabdomyoma | Infants and children | No defined sex distribution | Usually intramyocardial or intracavitary; no difference in distribution between the left and right heart | Multiple; small; round; lobulated; well-circumscribed; homogenous hyperecho | Multiple homogeneous low attenuation; no enhancement | Isointense on T1WI; hyperintense on T2WI; no enhancement |
| Fibroma | Infants and children | No defined sex distribution | Ventricles | Large; intramural; well-circumscribed; noncontractile; central calcification | Homogenous; intramural; soft-tissue attenuation; central calcification; little to no enhancement | Iso-intense on T1WI; hypointense on T2WI; homogenous; no enhancement on resting first-pass perfusion imaging and EGE; hyperenhancement on LGE |
| Paraganglioma | 20–60 y (typically in young adults) | No defined sex distribution | Left atrium; interatrial septum; aortic body | Granular; oval; well-demarcated; broad base; heterogeneous | Well-circumscribed; heterogeneous; low attenuation; heterogeneous marked enhancement | Isointense or hypointense on T1WI; hyerointense on T2WI; heterogeneous and peripheral rim enhancement |
| Hemangioma | Adulthood | Females | Ventricles | Well-circumscribed; oscillated with the cardiac cycle; blood flow signals on color Doppler flow imaging; obviously enhancement | Well-defined; low density or equal density; heterogeneous intense enhancement; “vascular blush” on coronary angiography | Heterogeneous isointense or hypointense on T1WI; hyperintense on T2WI; heterogeneous enhancement |