[Cardiac myxoma in the elderly. Clinical study].

Cardiac mixoma in the elderly. A clinical study. The clinical features of 13 cardiac myxomas surgically resected are presented. The mean age at presentation was 68 years. Ten were in the left atrium, 5 near the fossa ovalis, 3 at the base of the atrial septum, 1 at the inferior wall and 1 on the anterior leaflet of mitral valve, 3 were in the right atrium, 1 of these was accompanied with a myxoma at the apex of left ventricle. The ECG and the chest X-ray were normal in 9 and in 8 patients, respectively. In 3 patients, the diagnosis was occasionally made by routine 2-dimensional echocardiography. 5 patients presented with fever of unknown origin, arthralgias, weakness, weight loss. None had intracardiac or extracardiac recurrence in the 73 months follow-up. The presentation with constitutional symptoms only like fever of UO, may mimic collagen and neoplastic diseases, vasculitis, lymphomas: the 2-dimensional echocardiography is mandatory to esclude a cardiac myxoma in the elderly.