Case Report: an Uncommon Cause of Non-hemorrhagic Ischemic Stroke Associated with Left Atrial Myxoma

Up to 3 out of every 1000 patients may develop an atrial myxoma, the most unusual benign primary heart tumor. The morbidity and death of patients are significantly impacted by these malignancies. Myxoma is the least common primary cardiac neoplasm. Between 0.001 and 0.3% of autopsies reveal heart malignancies. Even when the ischemic stroke is uncommon, it is still important to consider the probable pattern of left atrial myxoma disclosure while making a stroke differential diagnosis. In a case of rapidly growing left atrial myxoma in a 60-year-old female who was suffering from a stroke 15 days ago, she started complaining of breathlessness and chest tightness and incidentally going through transthoracic echocardiography reveals a large left atrial myxoma. She transferred to cardiovascular thoracic surgery department for further treatment. After all investigation, they planned for open-heart surgery to remove of LA mass. Atrial myxomas are rare benign primary heart tumors. In this case, transthoracic echocardiography was being used to look into the patient’s complaints of shortness of breath and chest tightness when the presence of the massive left atrial myxoma was unintentionally found. Given the recent stroke history, it is crucial to consider myxoma as a potential cause or contributing factor to the stroke. The patient was then sent to the cardiovascular thoracic surgery department for additional care. After a thorough investigation and assessment, the decision was made to proceed with open-heart surgery to remove the left atrial mass. The importance of early diagnosis, multidisciplinary collaboration, and individualized treatment planning in patients presenting with left atrial myxoma and stroke by addressing the implication; nurses play a pivotal role in enhancing patient outcomes and providing comprehensive care to individuals with complex clinical presentation.