title: Calcified amorphous tumors (CATs) of the heart.
abstract: Intracavitary cardiac masses include neoplastic and nonneoplastic masses, which may share overlapping clinical symptomatology, physical examination findings, and or imaging characteristics. Definitive diagnosis of a cardiac mass is usually made on surgical excision and histological examination. In this article, we focus on one of the rare nonneoplastic cardiac mass, namely, calcified amorphous tumors. We present a series of three patients, an 80-year-old female who presented to the hospital for evaluation of a near syncope event, a 69-year-old female who presented for evaluation of palpitations, and a 60-year-old female who presented for evaluation of shortness of breath, who were found to have calcified amorphous tumors. We have also provided a relevant review of the literature on this topic.
authors.affiliation: Hartford Hospital, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT, USA; Saint Joseph Hospital, Chicago, IL, USA; College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, NY, NY, USA. Electronic address: connect2nasir@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nasir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Naba
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, NY, NY, USA; Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Atiq
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rehman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Calcified amorphous tumor; Heart; Nonneoplastic cardiac masses