Cardiac lipoma and lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum: cardiac magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Cardiac lipomas are uncommon, usually asymptomatic benign primary tumors of the heart that may incidentally be discovered during computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although the finding of a low-attenuation mass with density similar to fat on CT is pathognomonic, the MRI appearances of fatty cardiac masses are variable depending on the sequences employed. The MRI findings of 4 patients with cardiac lipomas or lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum are presented. All patients had lesions with characteristic low-signal-intensity margins and high central signal intensity on "bright-blood" balanced gradient-echo cardiac MRI sequences with very low repetition and echo times. It is proposed that this appearance results from intravoxel phase cancellation effects occurring at the fat/tissue interface and is sufficiently characteristic to obviate the need for confirmatory CT.