title: Incremental value of contrast echocardiography in the evaluation of a cardiac thrombus.
abstract: A 52-year-old man presented with altered mental status and report of prior complaint of chest pain. On electrocardiography, anterolateral ST-segment elevations with Q-waves in the septal leads were seen. Initial echocardiography images demonstrated a thickened anteroseptum. Further imaging showed the presence of a well-attached laminated apical thrombus. Contrast echocardiography images showed that the thrombus had minimal attachment to the endocardial surface. CT head subsequently showed the presence of acute stroke. The case demonstrates the additional value of contrast echocardiography in the evaluation of cardiac masses despite the certainty in the diagnosis of a thrombus.
authors.affiliation: Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jose Ricardo F
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Po
authors.affiliation: Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Erica L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Grove
authors.affiliation: Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Robert W W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Biederman
mesh_terms: D003328:Coronary Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: contrast echocardiography; left ventricular mass; stroke; thrombus