Tumors of the Cardiovascular System

Abstract

Primary cardiac tumors are rare and more than three-fourths are benign. In surgical series, the most common primary tumor of the heart is a myxoma accounting for over 70% of cases, with the second most common being primary sarcomas. The autopsy incidence of cardiac tumors is reported to be 0.001-0.3%. Metastatic tumors are by far the most common in surgical series of resected cardiac neoplasms. The majority of cardiac tumors present with some combination of heart failure, embolic disease, or arrhythmias. The signs and symptoms are mostly related to anatomic location and size, rather than to the histological type of tumor. Since the first resection of a myxoma in 1945, cardiac tumors are now being routinely resected, even when asymptomatic. Despite advances in cardiovascular imaging allowing for earlier detection and surgical removal, malignant cardiac tumors continue to carry a poor prognosis.