Assessment of the vascularity of a left ventricular mass using myocardial contrast echocardiography.
In addition to a thrombus, an intracardiac mass lesion can represent a primary cardiac tumor, or a metastatic lesion to the heart. The echocardiographic appearance and location of the mass, as well as the associated clinical scenario provide useful clues regarding cause, but these echocardiographic features alone may not always be diagnostic. Because most benign cardiac tumors are relatively avascular, the vascularity of a mass may be a feature that can help differentiate benign from malignant tumors. We present a case of a patient with a history of malignant melanoma who was found incidentally to have a cardiac mass on echocardiography. Contrast echocardiography (CE) was used to evaluate the vascularity of the mass. This case is compared with another patient with an apical thrombus, which represents an "avascular" intracardiac structure.
Lepper
Wolfgang
W
Cardiac Imaging Center, Cardiovascular Division, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville 22908, USA.
Shivalkar
Bharati
B
Rinkevich
Diana
D
Belcik
Todd
T
Wei
Kevin
K
D000418:Albumins; D003287:Contrast Media; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006392:Hemangioma, Cavernous / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy
D000418:Albumins; D003287:Contrast Media; C099458:FS 069; D005466:Fluorocarbons