Papillary fibroelastoma of the aortic valve presenting with chronic angina and acute stroke: a case report

BACKGROUND: Papillary fibroelastomas are rare, benign cardiac tumors that are often found on cardiac valvular surfaces. Most are incidental discoveries during surgery or autopsy. The clinical presentation of fibroelastoma varies widely, ranging from clinically asymptomatic to severe thromboembolic events. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of 65-year-old white man diagnosed with scattered, bilateral acute cerebral hemisphere infarcts with a history of chronic angina. Transesophageal echocardiography identified a fibroelastoma on the right coronary cusp of the aortic leaflet. Cardiac catheterization revealed mild non-obstructive stenosis. We postulate that the etiology of his angina is related to the dynamic occlusion of his right coronary ostium by the fibroelastoma. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report describing a patient with a cardiac papillary fibroelastoma who presented with both chronic angina and acute stroke.