Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (Nov 2021)

Case Report: A Tale of a Cardiac Mass: Looks Like a Papillary Fibroelastoma, Acts Like a Non-bacterial Thromboendocarditis

  • Ali Ahmad,
  • Ali Ahmad,
  • Arman Arghami,
  • Edward A. El-Am,
  • Edward A. El-Am,
  • Thomas A. Foley,
  • Thomas A. Foley,
  • Reto D. Kurmann,
  • Reto D. Kurmann,
  • Kyle W. Klarich

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2021.782926
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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Introduction: Benign cardiac tumors and tumor like conditions are a heterogeneous collection of mass lesions that vary widely in their characteristics, such as presentation, size, and location. In some instances, these tumors are found incidentally, and therefore a broad differential diagnosis should be considered.Case: An elderly male with significant unintentional weight loss and a high risk for cancer presented with an incidental valvular cardiac mass. The mass was thought to be a non-bacterial thromboendocarditis on initial clinical evaluation. After multiple imaging modalities, the mass was suspected to be a papillary fibroelastoma (PFE), which was resected due to high stroke risk and multiple previous chronic infarcts on brain MRI.Conclusion: This case highlights the need for a comprehensive cardiac evaluation of a valvular tumor to discern the etiology and rule out other underlying pathophysiological processes that may require alternative interventions to cardiac surgery.

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