Left ventricular cardiac fibroma in a child presenting with ventricular tachycardia

Abstract

Cardiac tumors in children are rare. Although most are histologically benign, they can be associated with life-threatening arrhythmias and sudden death. We report a 7-year-old boy, with a first episode of symptomatic tachycardia, who was found to have a left ventricular (LV) fibroma. He had a normal echocardiogram prior to an electrophysiology study, which revealed a sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia and a radio-opacity near the LV apex. These findings prompted a cardiac MRI, which demonstrated a discrete mass on his LV apex and free wall. Our case emphasizes that structural heart disease should be aggressively pursued in children presenting with ventricular tachycardia.