ABSTRACT
We present the case of a patient with myocardial infarction due to coronary ectasia. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed a unique image of a cystic-like mass in the right atrium corresponding to the ectatic right coronary artery (arrows), which was confirmed with computed tomography.
Subject(s)
Coronary Vessels , Echocardiography , Multimodal Imaging , Humans , Multimodal Imaging/methods , Echocardiography/methods , Dilatation, Pathologic , Coronary Vessels/diagnostic imaging , Male , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods , Coronary Artery Disease/diagnostic imaging , Coronary Artery Disease/complications , Middle Aged , Diagnosis, DifferentialABSTRACT
A 56-year-old patient with rheumatic heart disease and atrial fibrillation underwent mitral valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. The 3D perioperative echocardiogram showed an intermittent immobile medial disk without hemodynamic repercussion in the intensive care unit. The patient was taken back to the operating room and surgeons could not identify the cause. An enlarged left atrium and the size of the prosthetic valve was thought to have precipitated this condition. The heart team decided a biological prosthetic valve replacement would be performed. This case emphasizes the important role of the perioperative 3D echocardiogram in the detection of immediate surgical complications.