63 patients with cardiac tumors underwent operative treatment between January 1970 and December 1988. Three additional patients refused the operation, despite the large left atrial myxomas and obstruction of the mitral valve, recognized by echocardiography. 62 patients had benign tumors: the only malignant neoplasm was a fibrosarcoma, originating from the right ventricle. Myxomas were found in 57 patients: 54 were located in the left and 2 in the right atrium. In one case the myxoma originated from the left ventricle. The hospital mortality of the 22 patients who underwent excision of cardiac myxomas between 1970 and 1984 was 18.18% (4 deaths), and 2.44% (1 death) of 41 patients operated on from 1984 to 1988 for cardiac tumors (35 of them with myxomas). During the follow-up time of 6 to 140 months, recurrence of myxomas occurred in only one patient, 4 years after surgery for multifocal myxoma in the left atrium. Surgical excision of the myxoma is the only acceptable therapy able to cure. Without surgical treatment, the medium and long-term prognosis is fatal. Therefore once the cardiac myxoma is identified by two-dimensional echocardiography, the tumor should be removed even in patients without symptoms. The removal of myxomas doesn't require excision of the full thickness of the interatrial septum or ventricular wall. The risk of postoperative arrhythmias after extensive excision increases. Conduction disturbances may be related to the resection of a large area of the atrial septum or wall. No recurrences have been registered after less radical procedures-- removal with excision only of the underlying endocard.

INTRODUCTION; Sudden cardiac death or, as it is also called, a modern man's killer occurs a few hours after the beginning of the disease. Sudden death is the one that happens within an hour from the onset of the subjective discomforts regardless of the existence of any previous disease. According to modern statistics, 450.000 people die suddenly in the USA and 150,000 in Germany. CAUSES OF SUDDEN DEATH: The most frequent causes of sudden death are cardiologic or, in other words, a heart rhythm disorder such as ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation and bradycardiac rhythm disorder. All these reasons can be efficiently prevented by the implantation of the cardioverter defibrillators. IMPLANTABLE CARDIOVERTER DEFIBRILLATOR: In comparison with the already known medications, the defibrillator seems to be the most efficient in prevention of sudden cardiac death. This fact has been confirmed by large multicentre studies. The implantation itself is a routine procedure. It lasts about an hour and it often passes without any complications. The patient leaves the hospital a few days after the procedure. About 150 of these procedures are performed per year at the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases Vojvodina. The Social Insurance Fund bears medical costs and the patient only pays the participation fee, which is symbolical if compared to the value and use of the device. Owing to this fact, this device is available to every patient thus making the efficient sudden cardiac death prevention possible.

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Today there are "new types of electrostimulation"--implantable cardioverter defibrillators and multisite electrostimulators. The former is implanted in patients at high risk of sudden cardiac death and the latter in patients with heart failure and left bundle branch block. Owing to these devices, the sudden cardiac death can be prevented successfully and the quality of a patient's life is improved.

VF was not a frequent complication in our patients. Effective antiarrhythmic drugs prevent repeated VF. Beta-blockers, xy-locaine and amiodarone are drugs of choice for the treatment of malignant cardiac rhythm disturbances.