Introduction
The lack of ongoing cellular proliferation in the adult human heart makes myocardial tissue notably resistant to tumor formation, which is why cardiac tumors are very rare (1), with an overall incidence of about 0.5/million (2). A myxoma is a benign growth in the heart that may develop in the right or left atria, or, more rarely, in the ventricles (1)(3)(4). This rare condition’s etiology remains unclear, yet its origin has been associated with a proliferation of primitive stroma/connective tissue cells (1) and undifferentiated mesenchymal cells (3).
Usually, clinical manifestations are non-specific and are defined by the location, size, and mobility of the tumor. Myxomas may present in several ways, the most frequent manifestations being hemodynamic consequences like dyspnea, arrhythmia, palpitations, syncope, congestive heart failure and sudden death; systemic embolism such as transient ischemic attack (TIA), cerebrovascular accidents (CVA); and constitutional or systemic manifestations such as fever, weight loss, arthralgia, and fatigue (2). Here, we present a typical and very illustrative case and literature review of a patient with a left atrium (LA) myxoma, in order to orient clinicians in the assessment of this rare condition.