Abstract
Cardiac myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors in adults, with the left atrium being the most frequently affected. Echocardiography is the diagnostic modality of choice. The most effective treatment for cardiac myxomas is surgical excision.
Keywords: atrial myxoma, cardiac tumor, mitral valve obstruction, tumor plop
Short abstract
We present a clinical video of a large left atrial myxoma causing mitral valve obstruction, highlighting the importance of echocardiography as a diagnostic modality to facilitate referral to a tertiary center.
1. CASE PRESENTATION
A 37‐year‐old woman presented to a rural hospital with worsening dyspnea, orthopnea, and bilateral leg swelling for 2 weeks. Physical examination revealed a “tumor plop,” followed by a mid‐diastolic murmur and a loud second heart sound. A bedside transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a reduced ejection fraction in the left ventricle, as well as an echogenic, large mobile mass in the left atrium, nearly occupying the entire atrial chamber with protrusion into the left ventricle during diastole and causing mitral valve obstruction (Video S1). There was no evidence of systemic thromboembolism or malignancy. Since atrial myxoma was suspected, the patient was immediately referred to a tertiary hospital; however, she died as soon as she arrived. This highlights the importance of early detection with an echocardiography scan as a diagnostic tool, especially in rural areas with limited resources. The treatment of choice for atrial myxoma is surgical excision, and the prognosis is excellent. 1
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Chee Yik Chang: Conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; writing – original draft. En Ze Chan: Conceptualization; writing – original draft; writing – review and editing.
FUNDING INFORMATION
None.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
CONSENT
Written informed consent was obtained from the patients to publish this case report. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the editor in chief of this journal.
Supporting information
Video S1
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
None.
Chang CY, Chan EZ. Left atrial myxoma causing near‐total mitral valve obstruction. Clin Case Rep. 2023;11:e06887. doi: 10.1002/ccr3.6887
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
None.
REFERENCES
- 1. Pinede L, Duhaut P, Loire R. Clinical presentation of left atrial cardiac myxoma. A series of 112 consecutive cases. Medicine. 2001;80(3):159‐172. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Video S1
Data Availability Statement
None.