1. Cardiac rupture has been recognised for over 300 years. Both Harvey in 1649 and Morgagni in 1761 give accounts of cardiac rupture or tears. Morgagni is even said to have died from this complication. Cardiac rupture due to tumour is extremely uncommonand is previously unreported with a cardiac angiosarcoma. An extensive search of published reports has yielded no further cases and none was reported in two large series of cardiac metastases.4s
2. Cardiac rupture associated with metastases to the heart from carcinoma of the duodenum;WL, I.McNamara; EF, Ducey; LA, Baker;Am Heart J,1937
3. Cardiac involvement in lymphosarcoma with spontaneous rupture of the heart;Keat, E.C.B.; Twyman, V.R.;Br Heart J,1955
4. Cardiac rupture due to metastases from a carcinoma of the antrum;Singer, D.H.; Czernobilsky, B.; Steinberg, L.A.;Circulation,1958
5. Metastatic Cancer to the Heart. Review of the literature and report of 127 cases;Hanfling, S.M.;Circulation