Case Session 04: Miscellaneous (2018)-Large Left Atrial Appendage Aneurysm: Imaging Identification of a Rare Anomaly

Large Left Atrial Appendage Aneurysm: Imaging Identification of a Rare Anomaly

Video Transcription

Video Summary

A 58-year-old woman with minimal medical history was found incidentally to have a large structure compressing the left ventricle on echocardiography. Further evaluation with TEE and cardiac MRI showed a large left atrial appendage aneurysm, measuring about 5.1 × 4.7 cm, without thrombus. She had mild palpitations, dyspnea, and chest discomfort, and no atrial fibrillation on Holter monitoring. She was started on anticoagulation and referred for surgical excision via median sternotomy, which was uncomplicated. Left atrial appendage aneurysm is rare but can cause arrhythmias and thromboembolism; MRI is useful for diagnosis and surgical planning.

Keywords

left atrial appendage aneurysm

cardiac MRI

echocardiography

surgical excision

thromboembolism