Left atrium compression due to oesophageal dilation can induce acute heart failure

Giant left atrium mimicking right heart failure.

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Cardiac failure due to tumour of the left atrium.

of Necropsy Diagnosis: Acute pulmonary cedema, tumour of the left atrium. There was no sign of pericarditis or excess of pericardial fluid. The heart did not seem to be enlarged to any extent. There was a pedunculated papillomatous tumour, shiny and white in colour, arising from the inter-atrial septum of the left atrium and projecting through the mitral orifice into the left ventricle (Fig. 1)...

Function over form? Assessing the left atrium in heart failure.

The understanding of heart failure (HF) haemodynamics has traditionally focused on left ventricular (LV) structure and function, with the left atrium being viewed simply as a passive transport chamber that empties into the left ventricle. Over the last decade, there has been increasing recognition of the importance of left atrial (LA) structure and function in the pathophysiology of HF. LA volu...

Common Atrium: A Rare Cause of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

We report a rare case of common atrium and acute decompensated heart failure most likely precipitated by acute bacterial pericarditis leading to premature death, in a 25-year-old male footballer. The silent course of the disease for decades as well as the diagnostic and management pitfalls of this case illustrates the importance of early detection by echocardiography and urgent appropriate trea...

incremental value of left atrium two-dimensional strain in patients with heart failure