A.P. Sharath Post-Graduate Resident, Department of CTVS, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, India
Raghavendra Murthy Associate Professor, Department of CTVS, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, India
Chandana N.C Associate Professor, Department of CTVS, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, India
Prabhavathi Bhat Professor, Department of Cardiology, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, India
Sattenapalli Sravya Post-Graduate Resident, Department of CTVS, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, India
Address for correspondence: A.P. Sharath, Post-Graduate Resident, Department of CTVS, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, India E-mail: sharathsurgery@gmail.com
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Sharath AP, Murthy R, Chandana NC, et al. Giant Intra-cardiac Lipoma in the Right Atrium. Indian J Cardiovasc Med Surg. 2026;12(1):31–33.
Timeline
Received : February 13, 2026
Accepted : March 16, 2026
Published : April 30, 2026
Abstract
Lipomas are rare tumours of the heart constituting a small percentage of the
primary cardiac tumours of the heart. They comprise of mature adipocytes in an
encapsulated form when benign; the malignant version being the liposarcoma.
Lipoma is the second most common primary benign cardiac neoplasm and presents
most commonly in middle-aged and older adults. It has no sex predilection.
Approximately 50% of lipomas originate from the subendocardial layer, while the
other half arise from the subepicardial or myocardial layers and grow into the
pericardial sac. Patients are mostly asymptomatic but may sometimes experience arrhythmias or
valvular dysfunction, with varying symptoms depending on the tumor’s location.
Subepicardial lipomas can occasionally compress the coronary arteries, leading to
ischemic chest pain. Non-invasive cardiac imaging can help in early detection and
accurate diagnosis of cardiac lipomas, which is crucial for management to avoid
unfavorable outcomes due to overgrowth. We encountered a giant lipoma in the
right atrium of a 35 year old school teacher.
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Data Sharing Statement
There are no additional data available. All raw data and code are available upon request.
Funding
This research received no funding.
Author Contributions
All authors contributed significantly to the work and approve its publication.
Ethics Declaration
This article does not involve any human or animal subjects, and therefore does not require ethics approval.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the patients, their families, and all those who have contributed to this study.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
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Cite this article
Sharath AP, Murthy R, Chandana NC, et al. Giant Intra-cardiac Lipoma in the Right Atrium. Indian J Cardiovasc Med Surg. 2026;12(1):31–33.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.