Cardiac Tumors

Cardiac tumors are rarely primary in origin (<0.01%), with metastatic involvement 40 times more prevalent than primary cardiac tumors. Most cardiac tumors are found incidentally on routine echocardiography during evaluation of unrelated conditions. Benign myxomas are the most common type of cardiac neoplasm accounting for up to 50% of all primary cardiac tumors. Although the majority of patients with cardiac tumors are asymptomatic, those neoplasms that present clinically can have varied presentations. The degree of patient symptomology often depends on tumor size and location rather than the histopathology. The primary purpose of diagnostic evaluation is visualizing the size and location of the cardiac tumor, and its association with other structures such as heart valves or the pericardium. Surgical excision is the gold standard therapy for cardiac tumors with urgency to intervene based on type of tumor that is suspected as well as patient symptomology and clinical presentation.