eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: Cardiac Disease and Critical Care Medicine > Cardiology

Cardiac Tumors: Follow-up

Author: Edwin Rodriguez-Cruz, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, San Juan Bautista Medical School and Medical Center; Consulting Interventional/Clinical Pediatric Cardiologist, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital El Maestro and San Juan Bautista Medical Center; Consulting Interventional/Clinical Pediatric Cardiologist, Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and Veterans Affairs Hospital and Medical Center of Puerto Rico
Coauthor(s): Rosa M Cintrón-Maldonado, MD, Clinical Instructor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, San Juan Bautista Medical Center; Robert D Ross, MD, Co-Director of Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Professor, Children's Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Nov 10, 2008

Follow-up

Further Inpatient Care

  • Discharge patients with cardiac tumors when they are stable.

Further Outpatient Care

  • Provide close follow-up care to diagnose recurrence of malignant tumors after resection.
  • Monitor ventricular function.
  • Monitor medication doses and effects.

Inpatient & Outpatient Medications

  • Medications, when indicated, include digitalis, afterload reduction agents, diuretics, antiarrhythmics, and anticoagulants.

Transfer

  • Transfer to a facility with the necessary specialties and consultants.

Complications

  • Complications include arrhythmia, congestive heart failure (CHF), thromboembolism, decrease in ventricular function, and seeding during surgical removal (metastasis).
  • For complications related to specific types of cardiac tumors, see Background.

Prognosis

  • Studies provide a wide spectrum of morbidity and mortality statistics.
  • Survival rates depend on the type of tumor.
    • Benign tumors have a good prognosis unless they are associated with severe obstruction or intractable arrhythmias, which have a slightly higher risk of mortality.
    • For primary cardiac malignant tumors, the prognosis is invariably poor.
    • Metastatic neoplasms to the heart are more common than primary cardiac neoplasms; the prognosis is dependent on the histologic type of tumor, and survival rates are based on original pathology.
    • Certain tumors are known to recur even after resection.
    • Most children with cardiac tumors have an excellent prognosis and do not need any intervention.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Failure to make the diagnosis of cardiac tumor in a timely manner
 


More on Cardiac Tumors

Overview: Cardiac Tumors
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Cardiac Tumors
Treatment & Medication: Cardiac Tumors
Follow-up: Cardiac Tumors
Multimedia: Cardiac Tumors
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

cardiac tumors, cardiac neoplasm, heart tumors, heart neoplasm, neoplasm of the heart, rhabdomyoma, fibroma, myxoma, teratoma, sarcoma, angiosarcoma, cancer, cardiac mass, congenital heart failure, CHF, jugular venous distention, ascites, pericardial effusion, syncope, shortness of breath, vena cava syndrome, pulmonary embolism, restrictive cardiomyopathy, tuberous sclerosis, Carney syndrome, vascular tumors, hemangiomas, lymphangiomas, heart block, lipomas, papillary tumors, leiomyomas, mesotheliomas, fibroelastomas, fibroelastic papillomas, benign cystic tumors, rhabdomyosarcoma

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Edwin Rodriguez-Cruz, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, San Juan Bautista Medical School and Medical Center; Consulting Interventional/Clinical Pediatric Cardiologist, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital El Maestro and San Juan Bautista Medical Center; Consulting Interventional/Clinical Pediatric Cardiologist, Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and Veterans Affairs Hospital and Medical Center of Puerto Rico
Edwin Rodriguez-Cruz, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Cardiology, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, American Society of Echocardiography, Puerto Rico Medical Association, Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions, and Society of Pediatric Echocardiography
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Rosa M Cintrón-Maldonado, MD, Clinical Instructor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, San Juan Bautista Medical Center
Rosa M Cintrón-Maldonado, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Robert D Ross, MD, Co-Director of Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Professor, Children's Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University
Robert D Ross, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and Society of Pediatric Echocardiography
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Jeffrey Allen Towbin, MD, MSc, FAAP, FACC, FAHA, Professor, Departments of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Cardiovascular Sciences, and Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine; Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, Foundation Chair in Pediatric Cardiac Research, Texas Children's Hospital
Jeffrey Allen Towbin, MD, MSc, FAAP, FACC, FAHA is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Cardiology, American College of Sports Medicine, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, American Society of Human Genetics, Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, Heart Rhythm Society, New York Academy of Sciences, Society for Pediatric Research, Texas Medical Association, and Texas Pediatric Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from broker recommendation; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from broker recommendation

Managing Editor

Ameeta Martin, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Nebraska College of Medicine
Ameeta Martin, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Cardiology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Gilbert Herzberg, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Cardiology, New York Medical College
Gilbert Herzberg, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Steven R Neish, MD, SM, Director of Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
Steven R Neish, MD, SM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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