Atrial myxoma - left

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Heart, section through the middle

Atrial myxoma - left

Alternative Names:

Tumor - heart; Cardiac tumor; Myxoma - atrial; Myxoma - heart tumor
Symptoms:

Symptoms may occur at any time, but most often they accompany a change of body position. Symptoms may include:

Shortness of breath with activity
Breathing difficulty when lying flat
Breathing difficulty when asleep
Dizziness
Fainting
Sensation of feeling your heart beat (palpitations)
Chest pain or tightness

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The symptoms and signs of left atrial myxomas often mimic mitral stenosis.

General symptoms may also be present, such as:

Cough
Fever
Involuntary weight loss
General discomfort (malaise)
Joint pain
Blueness of skin, especially the fingers (Raynaud's phenomenon)
Fingers that change color upon pressure or with cold or stress
Curvature of nails accompanied with soft tissue enlargement (clubbing) of the fingers
Swelling - any part of the body

These general symptoms may also mimic those of infective endocarditis.

Signs and tests:

Listening to the heart with a stethoscope, the doctor may hear a "tumor plop" (a sound related to movement of the tumor), abnormal heart sounds, or murmurs. These findings may change when the patient changes position.

The first diagnostic test is usually an echocardiogram (a test based on ultrasound waves to view the heart), often accompanied with a Doppler study. The echocardiogram allows visualization of the myxoma, cardiac valves and heart structure. Other tests include:

An ECG may demonstrate atrial fibrillation.

Laboratory tests which may be altered include:

A complete blood count (CBC), which may show anemia, decreased platelet count, or elevated white blood cell count (WBC).
Elevated ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate)
Elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6)
Altered levels of proteins, such as protein C and gammaglobulins.