Clinical Signs and Symptoms Which May Indicate the Presence of a Cardiac Tumor

A cardiac tumor may present with a number of signs and symptoms which may be misdiagnosed.

Clinical Finding	Cause
vasculitis-like	micro-emboli from left-side tumor
endocarditis-like	micro-emboli from left-side tumor
stroke	emboli from left-side tumor
right heart failure	embolus from right-side tumor
pleuritis	embolus from right-side tumor
pulmonary embolus	embolus from right-side tumor
valvular-stenosis like	outflow obstruction, murmur
chest pain, syncope and/or dyspnea	outflow obstruction
AV block	involvement of cardiac conduction system
ventricular tachyarrhythmia	involvement of cardiac conduction system
cardiac arrest or sudden death	involvement of cardiac conduction system

Steps to avoid misdiagnosis:

(1) Perform histopathology on all retrieved emboli.

(2) Consider the diagnosis when the patient has paradoxical symptoms, especially when they vary with body position.

(3) Consider the diagnosis when a workup for vasculitis, endocarditis or hypercoagulability is negative.

(4) Perform cardiac imaging.

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