title: Persistent atrial paralysis: Case report with light microscopy and ultrastructural analyses.
abstract: Persistent atrial paralysis in a patient with complete heart block and mild mitral insufficiency is presented. Left atrial specimens obtained during implantation of a permanent cardiac pulse generator showed evidence of hypertrophy and fibrosis; subcellular degenerative changes ranged from near normal to irreversible, thus suggesting that atrial paralysis may be due to the replacement of normal atrial muscle with nonfunctional fibrous tissue.
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Surgery, Pathology, and the Cardiovascular Surgical Research Laboratories of the Texas Heart Institute and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Bossart
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klima
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Leachman
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cooley
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Norman