Key result
Surgical excision successfully treated a left atrial myxoma in a postpartum woman presenting with tachycardia and shortness of breath.
Why the study?
Primary cardiac tumours are exceedingly rare, but an index of clinical suspicion is required when common causes of breathlessness and tachycardia are ruled out.
Case Report (n=1)
Cardiac myxoma is a rare but important differential diagnosis in postpartum patients presenting with unexplained tachycardia and shortness of breath.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support surgical excision for postpartum left atrial myxoma; leaves open need for larger confirmatory studies.
Primary cardiac tumours are exceedingly rare in clinical practice and a myxoma is certainly not the first suspected diagnosis on a list of differentials in a patient presenting with breathlessness and tachycardia. Naturally, a structured work-up to rule out much more common conditions will take place. Nonetheless, an index of clinical suspicion is required especially when a clear-cut diagnosis is not forthcoming. We describe a case of a postpartum woman who presented with shortness of breath and palpitations, and was eventually diagnosed with a left atrial tumour. She underwent a successful surgical excision of the mass which was found to be a myxoma on histological examination. We review and present an up-to-date literature review on epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment options for cardiac myxomas.
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Nazir et al. (2019) conducted a case report in Left atrial myxoma (n=1). Surgical excision was evaluated on Successful surgical excision and histological diagnosis. Surgical excision successfully treated a left atrial myxoma in a postpartum woman presenting with tachycardia and shortness of breath.
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