[The clinical characteristics of stroke in young patients with cardiac myxoma].

Objective

To investigate the clinical characteristics of stroke in young patients with cardiac myxoma.

Methods

Medical records of young patients (aged between 18-44 years) diagnosed with cardiac myxoma in Beijing Anzhen Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2005 to March 2016 were retrospective reviewed.

Results

A total of 117 cases were included (85 female and 32 male)with the average age (36±7)years old. Most myxomas (83.8%) were located in the left atrium, 7.7% were in the right atrium, 3.5% were in the both atriums, 2.6% were in the left ventricle, and a few were in the left atrium plus left ventricle and in the right ventricle. Of all the patients, 24 (20.5%) (16 women and 8 men) were complicated with cerebral infarction. Among them, 3 patients were with lower extremity arterial embolisms. Two patients were with cerebral hemorrhage. The cerebral infarction mainly involved in the distribution area of the internal carotid artery. Infarctions involving 2 or more cerebral vessels were found in 4 cases. Most subjects (58.3%) manifested with hemiplegia, and some (18.2%) with syncope. The proportion of the left atrial myxoma in patients with cerebral infarction (100.0%) was significantly higher than those in patients without cerebral infarction (85.1%, P=0.044). Subjects with tumor diameter less than 3 cm were more frequently complicated with cerebral infarction (37.5% vs 13.8%, P= 0.009). A logistic analysis showed that the odds ratio of myxoma with tumor diameter less than 3 cm for cerebral infarction was 3.750(95%CI 1.343-10.470).

Conclusions

Cardiac myxoma is more common in young women, and often complicated with cerebral infarction. The infarctions are mainly distributed in internal carotid artery system, and some are involved in multiple vascular systems. The incidence of stroke is associated with the position of the myxoma. Smail-size myxoma cannot be ignored for its risk of stroke.