Overview 
Atrial Myxoma is a benign (non-cancerous) tumor located on the upper left or right side of the heart. It grows on the wall that separates the two sides of the heart.

Causes
Atrial myxoma is a primary heart tumor where the tumor started within the heart; most heart tumors start somewhere else before spreading to the heart by the bloodstream or by direct invasion.

Primary cardiac tumors are rare and myxomas are the most common type of these rare tumors. Majority of myxomas occur in the left atrium of the heart, usually beginning in the wall that divides the two upper chambers of the heart. The rest are in the right atrium. Right atrial myxomas are sometimes associated with aneurysms.

Atrial myxomas are more common in women. About 10% of myxomas are inherited. Such tumors are called familial myxomas. They tend to occur in more than one part of the heart at a time, and often cause symptoms at a younger age than other myxomas.

Symptoms
Symptoms may occur at any time but usually occurs when there is a change in body position. They include breathing difficulty when lying flat or when asleep, chest pain or tightness, dizziness, fainting, palpitations and shortness of breath with activity.

Other general symptoms include blueness of skin (especially the fingers), curvature of nails accompanied with soft tissue enlargement (clubbing) of the fingers, fever, fingers that change color upon pressure or with cold or stress, general discomfort (malaise), involuntary weight loss, joint pain and swelling in any part of the body.

Diagnosis
The doctor may call for a variety of imaging tests to confirm the existence of an atrial myxoma. They include chest x-rays, Cardiac Computed Tomography scans, and echocardiogram.

Treatment
Treatments Although atrial myxomas are not cancerous, complications are common. If untreated, it can lead to an embolism (tumor cells breaking off and traveling with the bloodstream). This can block blood flow or cause the myxoma to grow in another part of the body. Myxoma fragments can move to the brain, eye, or limbs.

If the tumor grows inside the heart, it can block blood flow through the mitral valve and cause symptoms of mitral stenosis. This may require emergency surgery to prevent sudden death.

The tumor must be surgically removed and some patients may need their mitral valve replaced as well.