title: [Cardiac myxoma in the elderly. Clinical study].
abstract: Cardiac mixoma in the elderly. A clinical study. The clinical features of 13 cardiac myxomas surgically resected are presented. The mean age at presentation was 68 years. Ten were in the left atrium, 5 near the fossa ovalis, 3 at the base of the atrial septum, 1 at the inferior wall and 1 on the anterior leaflet of mitral valve, 3 were in the right atrium, 1 of these was accompanied with a myxoma at the apex of left ventricle. The ECG and the chest X-ray were normal in 9 and in 8 patients, respectively. In 3 patients, the diagnosis was occasionally made by routine 2-dimensional echocardiography. 5 patients presented with fever of unknown origin, arthralgias, weakness, weight loss. None had intracardiac or extracardiac recurrence in the 73 months follow-up. The presentation with constitutional symptoms only like fever of UO, may mimic collagen and neoplastic diseases, vasculitis, lymphomas: the 2-dimensional echocardiography is mandatory to esclude a cardiac myxoma in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Clinica Medica II, U.O. Universitaria di Geriatria, Università degli Study, Pisa.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pentimone
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Del Corso
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Siuti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Verunelli
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bortolotti
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salvatore
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009232:Myxoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery