Introduction:

Cardiac masses are a heterogeneous condition, and include neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions that can be classified as primary, secondary, or metastatic.

Methods:

An analytical observational study of a retrospective cohort.

Results:

A total of 74 subjects were included, of which the data of 66 of them were analysed. Cardiac masses were diagnosed more often in women (53%). The most frequent symptom was dyspnoea (35%), followed by chest pain (28%). Other common signs were fever (22%), weight loss (22%), and a neurological focus (22%). A total of 44 patients had surgery or a biopsy taken of the primary lesions found. The primary diagnosis was a myxoma in 18 (27%). The rest of the primary cardiac tumours were rare, with a fibroelastoma in 2 cases (3%), rhabdomyoma 2 cases (3%), and only one case of rhabdomyosarcoma. There was secondary involvement in 18 cases (27%), mainly as lymphomas in 5 cases (8%), primary renal tumours in 4 cases (6%), and lung cancer in 3 cases. During follow-up, 77% were alive in the six months following the diagnosis. The main cause of death was progression of the oncological disease (8 patients), followed a cerebrovascular attack (3 patients), and post-surgical shock (2 patients).

Conclusions:

Patients with cardiac masses of have non-specific symptoms included in three main groups: heart failure, general symptoms, and systemic embolisms. The frequency of atrial myxoma and secondary tumours was similar.

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