Cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma: a clinicopathologic and electron microscopy study

G Ital Cardiol. 1998 Apr;28(4):383-6.

Abstract

A 66-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with a neurological syndrome characterized by ataxia and diplopia. Magnetic resonance of the brain documented an ischemic medullary lesion. Examination of the heart revealed a grade 2/6 systolic murmur at the left sternal border and apex that radiated towards the axilla. The echocardiography study showed a mild mitral regurgitation, and an abnormally enlarged posterior papillary muscle was found in the left ventricle. Two weeks after admission, the patient died suddenly due to a stroke. At autopsy, a recent vast swollen ischemic cerebral infraction was found. Furthermore, two old infarcts were observed in the spleen. A cardiac examination showed a white-gray ulcered mass in the left ventricle and histological analysis revealed a rhabdomyosarcoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Echocardiography
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Heart Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Myocardium / pathology
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma / pathology*