Atrial myxoma as an unexpected finding on CT coronary angiography

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A 43 year old woman presented with atypical chest pain. We performed cardiac computed tomography (CT) angiography using a 128 slice scanner to investigate her for possible coronary artery disease⇑. This showed a 2×2.8 cm mass in the left atrium (arrow) attached to the interatrial septum (IS). The coronary arteries were unobstructed. She was transferred to a surgical centre where the mass was excised and confirmed histologically as a myxoma. She has had an uneventful recovery. Cardiac CT angiography identifies unexpected but clinically relevant, non-atherosclerotic cardiac abnormalities in about 1% of patients. Clinicians should be alert to this possibility when requesting the examination.