title: Intracardiac thrombus and Murphy's law: Reflections on a clinical dilemma.
abstract: We discuss the case of a 49-year-old patient with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and a large, mobile and protruding apical thrombus. In spite of anticoagulation treatment, extensive and clearly defined systemic embolization occurred. We discuss the current evidence on the treatment of intracardiac thrombus with high risk of systemic embolization and propose a tailored approach to avoid potential catastrophic consequences.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: pfdrodrigues@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luísa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caiado
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meireles
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mário
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palma
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Severo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants
keywords: Anticoagulation; Anticoagulação; Embolization; Embolização; Left ventricular thrombus; Thrombectomy; Trombectomia; Trombo do ventrículo esquerdo