title: Cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma: diagnosis by MR imaging.
abstract: We report a case of cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma the initial clinical features of which were pericardial effusion, clinical symptoms of congestive heart failure and probable pulmonary thromboembolism, in which echocardiography constituted the first approach to the diagnosis of cardiac tumor and MRI confirmed it, precisely delimiting the tumoral extension and possible infiltration of pericardiac structures. A brief literature review of this entity is given, the MRI findings obtained in our case are described, and we discuss the advantages and limitations of this technique as compared with other alternatives of image diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hospital Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Villacampa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villarreal
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Ros
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cózar
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Fuertes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery