Right Atrial Myxoma

[jaimib]

I went for a consult with a cardiologist a few weeks ago for tachcardia issues not controlled by my Norvasc or Toprol. Had an EKG, Echo, and 24 hr. Holter monitor. I was totally caught off guard when he said my Echo showed a small mass (0.6 x 1.3 cm) inside my right atrium (from what I have read, it sounds like this is extremely rare). I am scheduled in 2 days for a cardiac MRI to confirm the diagnosis.
I have unfortunately been reading too much information on atrial myxomas, and am now officially freaked out about the possibility of having open heart surgery to remove it. Does anyone know if there are any other treatment possibilities, or could share any of your experiences with atrial myxomas.
Thanks for any insight you can provide me.
Jaimi

[kenkeith]

Yes, indeed, you can have, and not unexpected by the medical community, stress related anxiety, etc. You may want to consult with your doctor for relief of the symptoms.  Take care and thanks for sharing.

[LaurazGirlz1992]

I am 38 yrs old and I had to have emergency heart surgery for the atrial myxoma on the lower right side of my heart and its very rare to have it in the place where I did. ita also was very embeded into my heart that a part of my heart had to be cut out. The thing is every thing that the drs said would of showed up with xrays, cbc blood tests, mris, and ct scans I had done in the past year it still didnt catch it I was VERY lucky and had the surgery on christmas eve morning, I have to say that the after effects is what has scared the heck out of me the most! I've had pretty bad anxiety attacks and have scary thoughts going thru my head its crazy I had not ever had anxiety before all this and right after the surgery I had them real bad then they went away and now they ( the anxiety attacks) are coming back again I hate this at times I feel like I'm loosing it and that not ever been me, I'm wondering if its not post tramitic stress disorder due to everything that has happened to me.

[kenkeith]

You are welcome and thanks for taking the time to respond.  Take care.

[jaimib]

Thank you so much for the fast response. It's good to know that there are some hospitals out there doing minimally invasive heart surgery for this condition.
I really appreciate your help!!

[kenkeith]

I researched for any treatment other than surgery, but it appears surgery is the only option at the present time.

The Cleveland Clinic has robotically assisted available for the surgery.
Benefits include:
•Smaller incisions with minimal scarring Less trauma to the patient, including less pain Shorter hospital stay (usually 3 to 4 days) Decreased use of pain medications Less bleeding Decreased risk of infection
•Shorter recovery and quicker return to daily and professional activities: The patient can resume normal activities and work as soon as he or she feels up to it; there are no specific activity restrictions after robotically-assisted surgery