CALCIFIED AMORPHOUS TUMOR OF THE HEART (CARDIAC CAT)

Eleven cases of poorly characterized nonneoplastic endocardially based intracavitary cardiac masses have been seen at the Mayo Clinic betwee n 1965 and 1994. They occurred in 7 women and 4 men from age 16 to 75 years (mean, 52 years), The patients presented with a wide variety of symptoms and underlying diseases. The lesions were diagnosed as a prim ary cardiac neoplasm in 6 of 8 patients having echocardiography, Surgi cal excision was the treatment of choice in 10 patients; the 11th pati ent died of noncardiac causes 30 days after the mass was discovered. G rossly, the lesions were firm, yellow-white, and partially calcified, and arose in any of the four chambers. Microscopically, all lesions we re characterized by nodular calcium in a background of degenerating bl ood elements and chronic inflammation. All patients had a benign cours e relative to their cardiac lesion. Repeat echocardiogram in two patie nts showed residual calcium in the region of the initial tumor, Althou gh these lesions may represent calcified thrombi, the clinical present ation did not suggest thrombosis as the most likely explanation for th eir occurrence. Based on the combined clinical presentation and micros copic appearance, the authors propose the descriptive name calcified a morphous tumors (cardiac CAT) to describe this group to nonneoplastic cardiac masses. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunders Company.