introduction left atrial thrombi are present in one third of patients with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation. a left atrial mass can be diagnosed as a thrombus by transthoracic echocardiography in the presence of the predisposing factors for a thrombus such as mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation. the sensitivity of transthoracic echocardiography for detecting left atr...

a 54-year-old man referred to our center with barlow’s disease and severe mitral regurgitation. he had atrial fibrillation (af) rhythm, with a mildly enlarged left atrium (la). transesophageal echocardiography (tee) showed no clot in the la and la appendage; there was only mild spontaneous echo contrast in the la appendage. the patient underwent mitral valve repair and the maze operation, durin...

A patient with atrial tachycardia presented with dyspnoea on exertion. Transoesophageal echocardiography revealed idiopathic left atrial appendage stenosis. The mouth of the atrial appendage was narrowed, and there was a high velocity to and fro jet between the left atrial body and the left atrial appendage. The study, therefore, suggested isolated left atrial appendage orifice stenosis.

AIMS Left atrial appendage thrombi are believed to be the source of embolism in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis in atrial fibrillation. There are a few studies which search the effects of left atrial appendage dysfunction in patients with mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm. METHODS AND RESULTS Left atrial appendage function and flow patterns in 41 patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis ...

Ischemic stroke is a common complication of atrial fibrillation (AF). Currently, oral anticoagulant drugs are the most commonly used method of stroke prevention. Left atrial appendage occlusion is thought to be the main source of thrombi in patients with AF. Percutaneous left atrial appendage is a valuable therapeutic option for selected high-risk patients with AF and contraindications for oral...

OBJECTIVE To compare the value of current transthoracic echocardiographic systems and transoesophageal echocardiography for assessing left atrial appendage function and imaging thrombi. DESIGN Single blind prospective study. Patients were first investigated by transthoracic echocardiography and thereafter by a second investigator using transoesophageal echocardiography. The feasibility of ima...

OBJECTIVE Atrial fibrillation puts patients at significant risk for embolic stroke originating from the left atrial appendage. Few means are available for safe, effective, and durable left atrial appendage occlusion. A new clip device was evaluated with regard to safety and effectiveness for epicardial left atrial appendage occlusion. METHODS Patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing elect...

BACKGROUND Transcatheter left atrial appendage closure is an alternative therapy for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation patients. These procedures are currently guided with transesophageal echocardiography and fluoroscopy in most centers. As intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) is commonly used in other catheter-based procedures, we sought to determine the safety and effectiveness of intra...

Although the left atrial appendage has a quite unique structure, its function remains unclear. To clarify the function of the left atrial appendage, changes in its anteroposterior, transverse and longitudinal dimensions, and in the anteroposterior dimension of the left atrial body were measured by a sonomicrometer during volume loading in open chest dogs. In the control state, fractional shorte...