Surgeries for Cardiac Tumours

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1 . Surgeries for Cardiac Tumours

A Cardiac tumor is a growth that forms in your heart. Primary heart tumors begin in your heart, as opposed to spreading from somewhere else in your body. Most primary heart tumors are benign (not cancerous). They have essentially no risk of metastasis (spreading), and they’re not associated with decreased life expectancy as long as they’re removed.

The vast majority of primary heart tumors are myxomas or papillary fibroelastomas. These are benign growths that can impact heart valve function. More commonly, they can increase your risk for a blood clot that travels through your bloodstream (embolism) or a stroke. So, your healthcare provider may recommend surgery to remove the tumor.

Cancerous heart tumors (sarcomas) are extremely rare, and most often they’re not treated with surgery.

What are the symptoms of a cardiac tumor?

Many patients with a cardiac tumor are asymptomatic (have no symptoms at all). For those patients that do have symptoms they are typically non-specific and similar to many other more common cardiovascular conditions. Symptom presentation depends primarily upon tumor location, size, growth rate, and friability (tendency to break off and travel in the blood stream).

Examples of clinical presentations include:

  • Heart failure (shortness of breath, leg swelling, inability to lie flat)
  • Arrhythmia (irregular heart beat)
  • Chest pain
  • Stroke (slurred speech, weakness, vision loss)
  • Pericardial effusion (fluid/blood/tumor within the sac that surrounds the heart)
  • Constitutional symptoms (fever, weight loss, elevated inflammatory markers, anemi

Cardiac tumors are most commonly diagnosed by echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound). Further non-invasive imaging with computed tomography (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or positron emission tomography (PET scan) may help to better characterize/diagnose a cardiac tumor.

Treatment options

In general, patients with a primary cardiac tumor require surgical resection. However, depending upon the tumor size and location and the surrounding structures it is affecting, surgery will include complete removal with or without repair or replacement of a nearby cardiac valve. Open heart surgery is the most preferred approach as the tumor is inside the heart and the exact type of procedure is contemplated only after proper examination of the tumor during the surgery.