[Transesophageal echocardiography in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation and cerebral ischemia]. / Ecocardiografia transesofagea in pazienti con fibrillazione atriale cronica e malattia ischemica cerebrale.

The authors wanted to verify the possibility of discovering, by means of transesophageal echocardiography, cardiac causes that can't be clearly shown with 2D echocardiography, in patients who suffered a cerebral ischaemic pathology and who had a cronic atrial fibrillation. The left atrial appendage is not well visualized by the 2D echocardiographic approach. Transesophageal echocardiography has been shown to be superior to transthoracic imaging in the evaluation of the mass lesions in the left atrium and his appendage and often the best visualization of the mitral valve leaflets and aortic semilunar cusps.