e-Herz: Case study Herz 2013 DOI 10.1007/s00059-013-3999-4 Received: 23 September 2013 Accepted: 30 September 2013 © Urban & Vogel 2013
e-Herz
Although the estimated incidence of primary cardiac tumors found is as low as 0.02% in autopsy series, the most frequent primary cardiac tumor, myxomas, may present with life-threatening conditions such as cerebral embolism [1, 2]. Late recurrences of atrial myxomas, which usually appear years after the initial diagnosis, are also encountered with incidental diagnoses or unexpected clinical conditions. Here we report the case of a 49-year-old female patient presenting with recurrent stroke due to the recurrence of a solitary left atrial myxoma 7 years after the initial diagnosis and resection.
Case presentation A 49-year-old female patient presented to the emergency department with right-sided numbness and generalized weakness. Her past medical history was remarkable for an ischemic stroke and a left atrial mass in 2006. The diagnosis of myxoma was confirmed by pathological examination of the mass after resection. Her follow-up for 7 years postoperatively was uneventful, except for left-sided hemiplegia and dysarthria as sequelae of the cerebrovascular accident. At presentation, her vital signs were normal except for a fever of 37.5℃. Laboratory findings revealed raised levels of inflammatory markers with highsensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) at 33 mg/l (normal
e-Herz
Although the estimated incidence of primary cardiac tumors found is as low as 0.02% in autopsy series, the most frequent primary cardiac tumor, myxomas, may present with life-threatening conditions such as cerebral embolism [1, 2]. Late recurrences of atrial myxomas, which usually appear years after the initial diagnosis, are also encountered with incidental diagnoses or unexpected clinical conditions. Here we report the case of a 49-year-old female patient presenting with recurrent stroke due to the recurrence of a solitary left atrial myxoma 7 years after the initial diagnosis and resection.
Case presentation A 49-year-old female patient presented to the emergency department with right-sided numbness and generalized weakness. Her past medical history was remarkable for an ischemic stroke and a left atrial mass in 2006. The diagnosis of myxoma was confirmed by pathological examination of the mass after resection. Her follow-up for 7 years postoperatively was uneventful, except for left-sided hemiplegia and dysarthria as sequelae of the cerebrovascular accident. At presentation, her vital signs were normal except for a fever of 37.5℃. Laboratory findings revealed raised levels of inflammatory markers with highsensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) at 33 mg/l (normal
