We report what we believe is the 1st case in the medical literature in which an intravenous thrombolytic agent was used successfully--without massive intracranial bleeding--to treat acute stroke induced by atrial myxoma. Our patient, who had biatrial myxomas with a dual blood supply from the right coronary artery, presented with cerebral ischemia. Transesophageal echocardiography was essential in clarifying the diagnosis and in helping to direct surgical treatment.
Keywords: Cerebrovascular accident; echocardiography, transesophageal; embolism; heart atria/surgery; heart neoplasms/complications/diagnosis/surgery; intracranial embolism and thrombosis/etiology/drug therapy; myxoma; thrombolytic therapy; tissue plasminogen activator.