Aneurysm of the left atrial appendage is extremely rare, and afflicted patients most commonly present with atrial tachyarrhythmia or thromboembolism. For these patients, resection of the aneurysm is the recommended and preferred therapy. We present the case of a 57-year-old woman who was found incidentally to have a large aneurysm of the left atrial appendage presenting as atrial fibrillation. ...

In this issue of iJACC, Martinez et al. (1) report their experience with cardiac computed tomography (CCT) to detect left atrial appendage thrombi in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing pulmonary vein radiofrequency ablation. Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders, carrying significant morbidity, including cardio-embolic stroke and heart failure. Slow fl...

A patient was admitted for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. Cardiac computed tomography and transesophageal echocardiography revealed the absence of the left atrial appendage. However, the right atrial appendage looked normal and the level of pro B-natriuretic peptide was within normal limits. Successful catheter ablation was performed without any procedural complications and the sinus...

J Vasc Surg 1999;30:261–268. 19. Burke AP, Farb A, Malcom GT, Liang Y, Smialek JE, Virmani R. Plaque rupture and sudden death related to exertion in men with coronary artery disease. JAMA 1999;281:921–926. 20. Herrmann J, Lerman LO, Rodriguez-Porcel M, Holmes DR Jr, Richardson DM, Ritman EL, Lerman A. Coronary vasa vasorum neovascularization precedes epicardial endothelial dysfunction in experi...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the acute effects of atrial pacing at different pacing sites on mechanical stunning after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF). SETTING Tertiary referral centre. PATIENTS 20 patients with persistent AF were studied. INTERVENTIONS Spontaneous echo contrast (SEC), left atrial appendage emptying velocity (LAAEV), and left atrial appendage emptying fraction (LAAEF) ...

AIMS Surgical treatment for atrial fibrillation is now feasible in selective cases. The aim of this study was to assess the electrophysiological properties of patients undergoing atrial compartment operation for chronic atrial fibrillation. METHODS AND RESULTS Electrophysiological studies were performed in 20 mitral valve patients with atrial fibrillation who had been maintained in sinus rhyt...