Cardiac Tumor Treatment Cost in India

Cardiac tumors are very rare compared to other cardiovascular disorders and tumors from other organs, with only about 0.3% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The majority of cardiac tumors are benign, with cardiac myxomas being the most common in surgery, with a frequency of 70–80 % in cardiac tumors. Symptoms of cardiac tumors range from absent to nonspecific, and they frequently appear insidiously due to their diverse appearances. Arrhythmias, blood flow blockage, embolization, and other specific findings are all symptoms caused by cardiac tumors. Patients may experience dyspnea, dizziness, syncope, palpitations, and heart failure if the blood flow tract is impeded by a cardiac tumor. For cardiac tumor treatment in India, surgical procedures are advisable for patients to prevent life-threatening events from occurring.

What is a Cardiac Tumor?

A tumor is essentially an overgrowth on the surface of any tissue or organ. A cardiac tumor is defined as tissue expansion that arises on the surface of heart tissues. These protrusions are most commonly encountered in the heart chambers or heart valves. Cardiovascular tumors are the rarest and least well-known of the several types of tumors.

Cardiac tumors, like all other tumors, are divided into two categories. These tumors have the following names:

1. Benign Tumors: The origin of these tumors is non-cancerous. They can come in any size, depending on when they first appear. They do not spread to distant or isolated organs.
2. Malignant Tumors: These tumors are malignant and hence have the ability to metastasize, or spread to other locations. They are the most difficult to cure, and the success rate of complete remission and no recurrence cannot be considered adequate.

Tumors are classified into two categories based on where they originate. They are referred to as:

• Primary Tumor:  A tumor that starts in the heart and stays there. Myxoma is the most frequent benign heart tumor. Women are more likely to have them than men. Papillary fibroelastosis, fibromas, rhabdomyomas, hemangiomas, teratomas, lipomas, paragangliomas, and pericardial cysts are examples of non-cancerous primary tumors.
• Secondary Tumor: Secondary tumors are cancers that start somewhere else and spread to the heart tissues. The lungs, stomach, breast, kidney, colon, and liver are the most common sites of origin. Lymphoma, leukemia, and melanoma are the most common causes.

The majority of cardiac tumors are benign. However, small fragments of these can occasionally fall into the bloodstream, get carried away, and impede blood flow to the major organs. The medical term for this is embolism.

What are the symptoms of a Cardiac Tumor?

Many people with cardiac tumors show no symptoms. Symptoms are often non-specific and comparable to many other more prevalent cardiovascular disorders in those patients who do have them. The location, size, growth rate, and friability of the tumor all have a role in symptom manifestation (tendency to break off and travel in the bloodstream).

Here are some examples of clinical presentations:

• Heart attack (shortness of breath, leg swelling, inability to lie flat)
• Arrhythmia is a type of irregular heartbeat (irregular heartbeat)
• Chest discomfort
• Stroke (slurred speech, weakness, vision loss)
• Fluid/blood/tumor within the sac that surrounds the heart is known as pericardial effusion.
• Symptoms of the constitution (fever, weight loss, elevated inflammatory markers, anemia)

How is the diagnosis of cardiac Tumor done?

The rarity of cardiac tumors, as well as their similarities to other cardiac diseases and disorders, make diagnosis difficult. People with heart murmurs, irregular heart rhythms, or perplexing heart failure symptoms are usually diagnosed with cardiac tumors only after a thorough examination of their family history, symptoms, and a battery of diagnostic testing. If unexpected heart malfunctions are observed in cancer patients, the cause may be traced to cardiac tumors.

If your doctor detects a heart tumor, he or she may order the following tests for you:

• Blood tests
• Chest X-rays
• Echocardiogram
• Electrocardiogram
• Cardiac Catheterization
• Heart MRI
• CAT Scan
• Coronary Angiography

What are the Causes of Cardiac Tumors?

The causes of a cardiac tumor might be various, however, it is usually discovered to be an external component or explanation that causes this type of overgrowth. The following are some of the known reasons:

• Genetic Predisposition: A individual with a heart tumor is likely to have had some family members with the condition in the preceding generation. Nearly 10% of heart tumors are passed down through the generations.
• Secondary Effects: The tumors could be caused by another condition, such as NAME Syndrome, Carney Syndrome, or LAMB Syndrome, which induce inflammation in the heart tissues.
• Cell Overgrowth: Most cardiac tumors are discovered to arise from uncontrolled cell division or metastasizing from another part of the heart valves and muscles.
• Tobacco: Nicotine, which is found in tobacco, is a proven cancer-causing toxin. Tobacco products can create tumors in the respective organs, which can spread to the cardiac tissues if smoked, inhaled, or chewed.