title: Incidentally found, growing congenital aneurysm of the left atrium.
abstract: A left atrial aneurysm is a very rare cardiac anomaly that usually develops in the left atrial appendage. It usually develops congenitally, and has a risk of life-threatening complications. Here, we report a case of a growing aneurysm of the left atrium that was incidentally found in a 42-yr-old woman. Eighteen years prior, an abnormal cardiomegaly was found on a chest radiography for a pre-operative study. The chest radiography at this time demonstrated a more prominent cardiomegaly than the previous radiography findings. The left atrial aneurysm was diagnosed by echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. Although asymptomatic, she underwent a successful surgical excision to allay the possibilities of rupture, arrhythmia, heart failure, or thromboembolism. The surgical findings demonstrated an 8 x 15 cm sized saccular aneurysm at the left atrial appendage, and the pathologic findings showed three myocardial layers. The patient has been asymptomatic during the 15 months of follow-up. In conclusion, a congenital left atrial aneurysm can grow with time, even in asymptomatic cases, and an aneurysmectomy is a curative treatment, which can eliminate the potential complications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yeungnam University Hospital, Daegu, Korea. pjs@medical.yeungnam.ac.kr
authors.forename: Jong Seon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dong Hyup
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung Se
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Mi Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong Gu
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Young Jo
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Bong Sup
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Shim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006322:Heart Aneurysm / Q000151:congenital* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans