Assessment of cardiac and thoracic masses

Abstract

Cardiac masses are uncommonly encountered, but can pose a perplexing diagnostic dilemma when present. Familiarity with cross-sectional imaging of the heart can provide a number of tools to enable diagnosis. In this chapter, we discuss the varied appearances of cardiac masses. Thrombi tend to occur in characteristic locations include the left atrial appendage and left ventricular apex. Benign neoplastic masses, tend to be pedunculated and have narrow attachments to the myocardial walls. For example, atrial myxomas tend to have narrow attachments at the left atrial side of the interatrial septum. Malignant neoplastic masses tend to grow in an infiltrative pattern with broad attachments to the myocardium.