A 4-year-old previously healthy boy presented with a non-traumatic right parietal
hemorrhage. A second life-threatening left cerebral hemorrhage occurred three weeks
later and was decompressed with a craniotomy. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed
a hypermobile elongated tumor of the mitral valve. The cardiac tumor was successfully
resected three weeks after the craniotomy. Histological examination of the cardiac
tumor revealed a papillary lesion of spindle cells with smooth muscle cell differentiation.
In view of the histological findings and the clinical symptoms, a cellular myofibroblastic
tumor was considered the most likely diagnosis in our patient. Although a cardiac
tumor is a rare cause of a cerebral hemorrhage, a cardiac evaluation is recommended
in pediatric patients with a cerebral hemorrhage of unknown etiology.
Stroke - myofibroblastic tumor - child - cerebral hemorrhage - cardiac tumor
