A rare case of sudden death due to cardiac myxoma

Abstract

Sudden death is known to occur in patients with primary cardiac tumours; however, it is rare and is estimated to constitute a very small percentage of all sudden deaths. We present here a case diagnosed with post-mortem of a left atrial myxoma which had subtle ante-mortem manifestations and yet turned out to be the cause of sudden death that occurred in a patient with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL). We also present a brief review of available literature on this subject. This paper should alert the clinician with regard to the need to be aware of the rather obscure clinical presentation which may accompany this potentially fatal but treatable condition.