No abstract

Summary: A 69-year-old male with carcinoma of the lung developed unstable angina pectoris during his last few months of life. At necropys, the coronary arteries were free of atherosclerotic plaque, but the left main artery was severely narrowed by external compression from neoplastic metastases. Persistent anterior ST-segment elevation without evolutionary changes of myocardial infarction was a clue to cardiac involvement by tumor. Direct and indirect effects of metastatic tumors upon the coronary arteries include tumor or thrombi, emboli, wall invasion, or extrinsic wall compression. Extrinsic compression of the left main coronary artery is rare among congenital and acquired conditions producing severe left main disease.

Summary: Cardiac manifestations of secondary tumors of the heart may exert their effects directly by endocardial, myocardial, epicardial, or cavitary deposits (metastatic lesions), indirectly via tumor products such as in carcinoma, or mediated by therapy (chemotherapy, radiation) to treat the primary neoplasm. Part I of this review summarizes the frequency of metastatic cardiac involvement by various tumors and discusses pencardial manifestations (effusion, tamponade, constriction), one of the most common consequences of direct cardiac involvement by secondary tumors.

Summary: Cardiac manifestations of secondary tumors of the heart exert their effects directly by endocardial, myocardial, epicardial or cavitary deposits (metastatic lesions); indirectly via tumor products such as carcinoma; or mediated by therapy (chemotherapy, radiation) to treat the primary neoplasm. Part I1 of this review summarizes certain direct effects of noncardiac tumors on the heart including superior and inferior vena cava syndromes, pulmonary artery and vein obstruction or compression, myocardial implants, and intracavitary metastases. Many of these direct effects may be noninvasively diagnosed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and/or two-dimensional echocardiography .