title: Free vortex ring formation in the left atrium originating in the left auricle.
abstract: An 80-year-old woman was evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography after coronary artery bypass surgery and subsequent cardioembolic stroke. In addition to spontaneous echo contrast demonstrating a counterclockwise rotating blood flow pattern, we observed free vortex ring formation in the left atrium, originating in the left auricle. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of abnormal free vortex ring type flow pattern in the left atrium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kortz
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Delemarre
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bot
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Visser
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D012039:Regional Blood Flow