heart and blood vessel disorders
Myxomas
Introduction
A myxoma is a noncancerous primary Overview of Heart Tumors , usually irregular in shape and jellylike in consistency. People may feel short of breath or faint, or they may have fever or weight loss. Doctors confirm the diagnosis with echocardiography. Surgery is needed to remove a myxoma. Half of all primary (arising in the heart) Overview of Heart Tumors are myxomas. Three fourths of myxomas occur in the left atrium, the chamber of the heart that receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs. Myxomas usually develop in women, typically between the ages of 40 and 60. Some uncommon types of myxomas run in families. These hereditary myxomas (part of Carney complex, a syndrome of various noncancerous tumors) usually develop in young men in their mid-20s, and they can occur in one or more of any of the chambers of the heart. A myxoma in the left atrium often grows from a stalk and swings freely with the flow of blood. As it swings, the myxoma may move in and out of the nearby mitral valve, which opens from the left atrium into the left ventricle. This swinging motion may plug and unplug the valve over and over again, so that blood flow stops and starts intermittently. Myxomas in the left atrium often grow from a stalk and swing freely with the flow of blood, as a tetherball does. As they swing, they may move in and out of the nearby mitral valve, the valve that opens from the left atrium into the left ventricle. This swinging motion may plug and unplug the valve over and over again, so that blood flow stops and starts intermittently. 