A cardiac haemangioma: the contribution of myocardial contrast echocardiography in the diagnosis.

Cardiac haemangiomas are extremely rare and account for approximately 2% of all primary resected cardiac tumours. They can occur in any chamber and at any level, from pericardium to endocardium. Myocardial contrast echocardiography is an imaging tool for the assessment of myocardial microcirculation. It can also be used for the evaluation of the relative perfusion of a cardiac mass. We report a case of a 17-year-old male patient who was referred for cardiological evaluation because of a 2/6 systolic murmur. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a mass in the left ventricle. Using myocardial perfusion contrast echocardiography, the mass was rapidly filled with contrast greater than the adjacent myocardium, suggesting intense vascularisation. The mass was successfully resected and the subsequent histopathological examination showed a cardiac haemangioma. Therefore, myocardial perfusion contrast echocardiography appears to be a valuable diagnostic tool in differentiating the different types of cardiac masses.