An atypical cause of myocardial infarction: case report of an obstructing papillary fibroelastoma of the aortic valve

Background Papillary fibroelastomas are rare primary cardiac tumours with a prevalence of 0.01% at autopsy. They are histologically benign tumours but have been demonstrated through case series to confer an increased risk of thrombo-embolism resulting in: transient ischaemic attack, stroke, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary and systemic embolization.