Primary Cardiac Sarcoma In Elderly Patient And Need For High Index Of Suspicion

Case Presentation: Primary cardiac tumors are rare with an incidence between 0.0017 and 0.2%. Most cardiac tumors are benign such as myxomas, lipomas, and papillary fibroelastomas. Primary malignant cardiac tumors are even more uncommon, with cardiac sarcomas being the most common. We present a case of an 87-year old female who presented initially for progressive shortness of breath and concern for potential endocarditis vs intra-cardiac thrombus noted on outside hospital transthoracic echocardiogram. Blood cultures were negative, no leukocytosis or sequelae of infection were noted. Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) noted a large lesion attached to the anterior mitral leaflet, with additional lesions noted on the left atrial free wall just medial to the right sided pulmonary veins. Obstruction of mitral inflow was noted with a mean gradient through the mitral valve of 5mmHg. Cardiac MRI was performed for further delineation of lesions and based on tissue characteristics were felt to be thrombus (Figure 1). Hypercoagulability workup was negative, and there was no improvement in lesion size with systemic anticoagulation. Cardiothoracic surgery was consulted for surgical removal of the mass. Pre-operative cardiac catheterization showed multi-vessel obstructive coronary artery disease. It was also noted that the left circumflex artery appeared to supply blood into a discrete area in the left atrium. The patient was ultimately taken for surgical removal. Surgical pathology demonstrated primary high grade cardiac sarcoma. Discussion: The rarity and heterogeneity of primary cardiac tumors, along with many potential mimickers pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. This, combined with the location and aggressive nature of the tumors, make them difficult to treat and incur a high mortality rate. This highlights the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion and keeping a broad differential when evaluating intra-cardiac masses.