Pulmonary embolism after pacemaker implantation.
One day after implantation of a permanent pacemaker in an 82-year-old man, transthoracic echocardiography showed a mass in the right ventricle and a small pericardial effusion. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed a mass attached to the pacemaker lead. Subcutaneous administration of enoxaparin was begun, and the patient remained free of symptoms for the duration of his hospital stay Follow-up echocardiography performed before discharge failed to show the right ventricular mass, but a lung perfusion scan revealed multiple bilateral perfusion defects consistent with pulmonary emboli. The patient was discharged on a regimen of enoxaparin for another 30 days. Two years later, he remained asymptomatic.
Martinez-Sellés
M
M
Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.
Bueno
H
H
Almendral
J
J
Diaz-Castro
O
O
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography