Point-of-care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Cardiac Myxoma
Introduction: Cardiac myxomas are rare benign tumors of the heart that can become clinically relevant due to cardiovascular effects. Diagnosis can be challenging due to non-specific presenting symptoms. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) provides a convenient first-line screening modality. Case Presen...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/70t442fn |
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| Summary: | Introduction: Cardiac myxomas are rare benign tumors of the heart that can become clinically relevant due to cardiovascular effects. Diagnosis can be challenging due to non-specific presenting symptoms. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) provides a convenient first-line screening modality. Case Presentation: A 65-year-old male with a history of tobacco use presented to the emergency department (ED) with a month of progressive dyspnea with exertion and hematemesis. Cardiac POCUS and pulmonary computed tomography with angiography revealed a left atrial mass consistent with a cardiac atrial myxoma. The patient underwent coronary artery bypass grafting with excision of the left atrial myxoma via right atriotomy and atrial septal defect repair. Discussion: Presented is a case of a patient presenting with progressive dyspnea diagnosed with a cardiac myxoma using POCUS in the ED. Cardiac myxomas have a wide variety of clinical presentations, and emergency physicians must maintain a high index of suspicion. Point-of-care-ultrasound is well suited for early diagnosis of this unique pathology. Surgical resection and tumor histopathology remain the mainstay of treatment. |
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| ISSN: | 2474-252X |