Cardiac papillary fibroelastomas. Two-dimensional echocardiographic recognition

Abstract

Papillary fibroelastomas are benign tumors of the heart and are most often incidental findings at cardiac surgery or autopsy. Rarely, symptoms or even sudden death can occur. We report two cases of cardiac papillary tumors diagnosed by two-dimensional echocardiography and successfully excised. One patient was asymptomatic and had a 1-by 1-cm papilloma of the mitral valve. The other patient had intermittent chest pains and diaphoresis associated with a 1.5- by 1-cm aortic valve papilloma.