Papillary fibroelastoma of the cardiac valves: a rare cause of embolic stroke.

Papillary fibroelastomas are rare, primary, benign cardiac tumours most frequently located in the heart valves. They are a potential cause of systemic emboli, stroke, myocardial infarction and sudden death. We present two cases of papillary fibroelastomas located in the mitral and aortic valves of patients who had suffered multiple strokes. The fibroelastomas were diagnosed using transoesophageal echocardiography and the patients were treated surgically, with broad excision of the tumours and preservation of the valves. The echocardiographic and microscopic characteristics of the fibroelastomas are analysed and methods for their differential diagnosis from other cardiac tumours are discussed in the context of the available literature.