title: Pulmonary embolism after pacemaker implantation.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez-Sellés
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bueno
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Almendral
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Diaz-Castro
mesh_terms: 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