title: Two-dimensional echocardiographic appearance of left ventricular thrombi with systemic emboli after myocardial infarction.
abstract: To test the hypothesis that left ventricular (LV) thrombi that project into the lumen and are mobile are more likely to embolize than those that do not have these characteristics, the 2-dimensional echocardiograms of 16 patients with LV thrombi after myocardial infarction were retrospectively reviewed. Ten had evidence of peripheral embolization and 6 did not. The studies were reviewed in random order by an observer blinded to the clinical data. Each echocardiogram was graded as showing a protruding or nonprotruding thrombus and the presence or absence of increased mobility. The thrombus projected into the lumen on the echocardiograms of 8 of 10 patients who had had emboli and in 0 of 6 who had not. The thrombus had increased mobility in 4 of 10 patients with emboli and 0 of 6 without. Thus, LV thrombi that project into the lumen and have increased mobility are more likely to embolize than those without these characteristics.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography; D004617:Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology