Atrial Myxomas:

• Rare primary heart tumor
• Most involve the left side of the heart

• Symptoms may include fatigue, fever, rash, chest pain, syncope, and/or focal neuro deficits
  • Symptomatic emboli occur in 20-45% of pts with atrial myxomas
  • >50% of emboli go to the brain
  • Hemiplegia, aphasia, retinal artery occlusion, embolic “rash” in a child should all raise concern for cardiac source in pediatric pt.
    
    • Embolus from the heart is the most common cause of retinal artery occlusion in pts <40yrs.

• Emboli are most often myxoma tissue and not blood clot (so thrombolytics aren’t of much value)

Majeed Al-Mateen, et al. Cerebral Embolism From Atrial Myxoma in Pediatric Patients. Pediatrics, Aug 2003; 112: e162 - e167.