Non Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting with chest pain

Background: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative malignancies which can have differing patterns of behavior and clinical presentation. Unlike Hodgkin's disease. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is much less predictable and has a far greater predilection for disseminating sites. Case Report: We offer a case of a 50 year old Cancasian male who presented with chest pain, and was ultimately diagnosed with follicular lymphoma by means of liver biopys, in conjunction with immunohistochemistry. This malignancy grew at a rapid rate and over came our patient in a short period of time. The combination of a large tumor burden and cardiac infiltartion made resuscitation extremely difficult when it became necessary, and this made a positive outcome unlikely. Conclusions: It is rare for an immunocompetent patient to present with cardiac lymphoma without any previous signs and symptoms. Due to the rarity and the vague clinical presentation there must be a high degree of suspicion in order to diagnose cardiac lymphoma. As evidenced by this case time is of the essence to increase the likelyhood of survival in these patients.