title: Neovascularized myxoma-causing abnormal blood flow in the left atrium diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography.
abstract: Myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumor, and neovascularization of cardiac myxoma has been shown in previous case reports. However, it is seldom reported that abnormal blood flow spurted from a neovascularized myxoma into the cardiac chamber. In this unusual case report, we present a left atrial myxoma in a 44-year-old woman with atypical angina. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed several small blood streams spurting from the surface of massively vascularized myxoma into the left atrium. Coronary angiography showed a feeding artery which arose from the right coronary artery and supplied the left atrial myxoma, with no evidence of coronary artery stenosis. This case demonstrated that TTE might be helpful for confirming the neovascularization of myxoma in the left atrium and finding the abnormal blood flow that spurts from the neovascularized myxoma. We speculate that the abnormal blood flow spurting from the neovascularized myxoma into the left atrium may have caused a coronary steal phenomenon thus resulting in myocardial ischemia.
authors.affiliation: Echo Lab, The First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China. wxb618@sina.com
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D009232:Myxoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*