Cardiac tumors and masses

Abstract

Cardiac masses may present themselves upon investigation of cardiovascular symptoms, systemic manifestations, or incidentally upon screening. The differential diagnosis, workup, and subsequent management are heavily dependent upon the presenting clinical setting and the individual patient. In the broadest terms, a mass may be a benign or malignant tumor, a degenerative or infectious process, a normal but prominent structure, or even merely an imaging artifact that has been misinterpreted. Armed with a basic knowledge of the most common entities and the demographic in which they typically present, together with an awareness of the pathways in which cancer or masses can involve the heart, one may then choose the most appropriate cardiac imaging modality and workup to diagnose and treat the patient. In this chapter, the most common masses affecting the heart are presented with updated strategies for further refining the differential diagnosis. Initial treatment strategies and recommendations based on the available literature are presented.