Heart tumors: classification, clinic, characteristics, radiology signs

Abstract

Primary tumors of the heart are a rare pathology with a frequency of occurrence of 0.0017% to 0.28% according to autopsies, while 75% of them are benign in nature, 25% are malignant. Secondary tumors of the heart occur 20–40 times more often than primary tumors. Due to the rapid development of radiology diagnostic methods, the chances of early detection of heart tumors have improved significantly at present. Recently, large cardiology centers have accumulated a lot of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of these lesions. However, early detection in primary malignant lesions of the heart is still a problem, since the clinical symptoms appear when tumors reach a large size. Modern methods of treatment of the heart malignant tumors include radical surgery, and in case of impossibility – cytoreductive surgery.We present literature review on the diagnostic methods and differential diagnosis of the heart lesions. The types of cardiac tumors are described; its morphological features, differential diagnostic imaging features and hemodynamic characteristics of the lesions are presented; the diagnostic effectiveness of modern imaging methods is analyzed.