What are cardiac tumors?

Cardiac tumors are cancerous or non-cancerous growths that appear in the muscles of the heart or structures adjacent to it. These tumors are relatively rare and, among the two, the non-cancerous/benign tumors are more common.

These growths are benign because they do not spread to other areas but can still spell trouble as these tumors can grow big, blocking parts or affecting the structure of the heart. These tumors rarely originate in the heart and are most likely to be a result of cancer that has spread from another organ.

Symptoms

The symptoms vary and depend mainly on the location of the tumor. Some possible symptoms include:

• Sweating
• High fever
• Dizziness
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Palpitations

In cases where the tumors obstruct blood flow:

• Arrhythmias
• Blackouts
• Breathlessness
• Sometimes even sudden death may occur

Treatment

Some benign tumors may not require any treatment while some others are surgically removed through an open heart surgery. In rarer cases where the tumors are malignant, a combination of required treatments ranges from chemotherapy and radiation to surgery.