Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of patients with left atrial thrombus and sinus rhythm: experience in 20 643 consecutive transesophageal echocardiographic examinations.
BACKGROUND
Left atrial (LA) thrombus is infrequently detected in the presence of sinus rhythm (SR) and, in these cases, is usually associated with additional cardiac pathologies. We sought to determine the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of patients with LA thrombus and SR to define a high-risk group of patients prone to this uncommon clinical presentation.


RESULTS
The institution's echocardiographic laboratory database was searched to identify patients with LA thrombus, diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), who were in SR during the TEE examination. Of 20 643 consecutive TEE examinations performed during an 11-year period, LA thrombus was detected in 314 patients in 380 TEE examinations. Of these, SR was present in 20 patients (age 69+/-13 years; 40% men) in 23 examinations (0.1% of all TEE examinations; 6.1% of TEE examinations with LA thrombus). High-risk structural heart disease (severe left ventricular dysfunction or significant left-sided valve disease [predominantly mitral valve disease]), previous documented episodes of atrial fibrillation, or both (structural heart disease and previous atrial fibrillation) were present in 10, 4, and 5 of the 20 patients, respectively. Only 1 patient with LA thrombus and SR did not have high-risk features.


CONCLUSIONS
LA thrombus is very infrequently detected in the presence of SR. Patients with LA thrombus and SR constitute a high-risk group characterized by specific structural cardiac abnormalities or previous atrial fibrillation, abnormalities that are potentially detectable before TEE.
Agmon
Yoram
Y
Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minn 55905, USA.
Khandheria
Bijoy K
BK
Gentile
Federico
F
Seward
James B
JB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019992:Databases as Topic; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*