Left ventricular myxoma causing sudden death.

Abstract

Sudden cardiac death due to a myxoma is rarely reported in the literature. Cardiac myxomas are benign tumors of the heart, most frequently located in the left atrium. Left ventricular myxomas are rare. Left ventricular myxomas attached to the anterior papillary muscle are especially rare, with only 1 case being reported in the literature. Myxomas have the potential to cause embolization, obstruction, or arrhythmia. We report a case of a 32-year-old man who sustained sudden death and was found to have a left ventricular myxoma attached to the anterior papillary muscle at autopsy. Although the subject also had evidence of a distant myocardial infarction and dilated cardiomyopathy, the myxoma was apparently clinically silent. Cardiac myxomas may be treated by surgical excision with excellent prognosis. However, they can remain silent and undiagnosed and, hence, have the potential for causing sudden cardiac death. In addition to the case report, we present a literature review of these issues involving cardiac myxomas.