Project description:A 72-year-old male with atrial fibrillation (AF) underwent mitral valve (MV) repair and concomitant procedures. He was discharged with therapeutic Warfarin dosing but was readmitted 3 weeks later with a right caudate nucleus infarct and subtherapeutic anticoagulation. Echocardiography showed a giant left atrial (LA) thrombus. Low-molecular-weight heparin was promptly initiated. Unfortunately, the patient suffered an intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) 2 days later. He declined surgical thrombectomy and was managed conservatively, remaining stable without neurological deficits. Serial brain imaging showed interval stability, allowing Warfarin to be resumed. Follow-up echocardiography demonstrated partial and complete resolution of the thrombus at 1 and 3 months, respectively.
Project description:Congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm is very rare. We describe a giant left atrial appendage aneurysm with a pinball-like mobile thrombus in a 2-year-old child with cardioembolic stroke. Patient underwent successful surgical resection of the aneurysm.
Project description:IntroductionValvular heart disease is highly prevalent, especially in developing countries. Mitral Stenosis (MS) is a condition where there is narrowing of mitral heart valve. Left atrial (LA) thrombus is often seen in severe MS patients.Case presentationA 47-year-old woman complained of palpitation and shortness of breath. The heart sounded irregularly irregular, with grade III/IV diastolic murmurs at the apex. Her electrocardiogram showed atrial fibrillation (AF) with rapid ventricular response Transthoracal echocardiography (TTE) showed severe MS, mild tricuspid regurgitation, and LA thrombus. Mitral valve replacement surgery, tricuspid valve repair, and evacuation of the LA thrombus were immediately done. We evacuated a spherical mass with a size of 4 × 3x2.2 cm, layered and easily separated. Microscopic examination showed extensive fibrin and bleeding with mononuclear inflammatory cells and macrophages, corresponding to a thrombus conclusion.Clinical discussionAtrial thrombus is common in MS patients. The incidence will increase by about two times in patients with AF. TTE is a reliable tool in diagnosing large mobile atrial thrombus and differentiated it from other cardiac masses. However, histopathological examination is still the gold standard to distinguish between LA thrombus and myxoma. Immediate thrombus evacuation and valve replacement, if needed, will give good results and reduce systemic thromboembolism.ConclusionLA thrombus is often seen in a patient with severe MS. Optimal preoperative preparation involves assessing preoperative risk stratification will give good results.
Project description:An 88-year-old male with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and severe congestive heart failure (HF), was admitted to the Neurological Intensive Care Unit because of the acute onset of aphasia and left hemiplegia. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a left atrial (LA) cavity thrombus. Its "fatal" distal embolization to abdominal aorta occurred in a few days. These observations should lead to a cautious approach in proposing a percutaneous closure of LA appendage in older NVAF patients, with HF and/or left ventricular dysfunction and larger LA volumes, who are not adequately anticoagulated.
Project description:Most physicians regard left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombus as a contraindication for LAA occlusion due to risk of distal embolization which is a serious complication. Here we report a case of successfully implanted Amplazter cardiac plug without complication in elderly patients having LAA thrombus with recurrent embolic events despite oral anticoagulants for prevention of thromboembolic events. <Learning objective: LAA thrombus is not completely resolved in all cases and can be a potential source of stroke or embolization even during anti-coagulation. We would like to share a case that suffered from 6 strokes or embolizations despite anti-coagulation, warfarin or non-vitamin K antagonist oral anti-coagulants due to incomplete resolution of LAA thrombus. In this clinical situation, we can suggest LAA occlusion to isolate thrombus from LA and prevent further stroke or embolization.>.