A PRIMARY OSTEOSARCOMA OF THE HEART AS A CAUSE OF RECURRENT PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL EMBOLI

The case of a 66-year-old woman with a primary cardiac osteosarcoma is described. These distinctly rare malignant tumors arise preferentiall y in the left atrium. Clinically, they often present symptoms of both, intramural and intracavitary neoplasm in addition to general weakness , recurrent breast pain, and dyspnea. As shown in the present case, wi th growing intracavitary tumor masses the risk for peripheral arterial including cerebral embolism increases. Consequently, in most patients with symptoms of systemic arterial embolism of unknown origin perform ance of transesophageal echocardiography seems advisible, which is pre sently the most convenient noninvasive imaging method to exclude or to identify intracardiac sources of emboli, irrespective of their type.