A free-floating left atrial thrombus develops intermittent entrapment in the mid-ventricle during diastole

Free-floating left atrial thrombi are rare. Here we report a case of a 75-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation who was admitted for treatment of acute myocardial infarction. A free-floating left atrial thrombus was found incidentally on echocardiography. Ten days after percutaneous coronary intervention, the patient had mild faintness with transient hypotension, and it was found that the left atrial thrombus had developed intermittent entrapment in the mid-ventricle during diastole, with abrupt rebound back to the left atrial cavity during systole. Urgent removal of the thrombus was performed successfully. Although the free-floating thrombus had appeared to be spherical, like a ball thrombus, on echocardiography, the excised thrombus was pedunculated. A cut section revealed a laminated thrombus with an onion-skin-like appearance.     

A quantitative method using continuous recording of platelet thrombus size in hamster cheek pouch

A platelet thrombus was formed in an arteriole of the hamster cheek pouch by electrical stimulation followed by topical application of ADP. Experimental conditions for inducing one thrombus in one arteriole of each animal were selected as follows: To obtain successful thrombus formation, administration of square-wave direct-current 5-Hz pulses, 20 msec in duration and 30 μA in pulse strength, for 8 or 16 sec was adopted as standard stimulation. Once the thrombus was formed in an arteriole, formation was reproducible at the same site with each application of ADP. The size and number of thrombi were dependent upon the concentration of ADP (0.3 to 30 mM), from a single thrombus to successive formation of a thrombus at the same site. The total area of the tracing produced by thrombus formation increased with increasing concentrations of ADP. The thrombus was magnified by microscope and its image was projected onto a television monitor screen. The continuous recording of changes in thrombus size was made possible by placing a simple photocell over the thrombus on the screen. The optical system including the photocell showed a linear relationship. This continuous quantitation of thrombus formation was quite useful in evaluating antithrombotic effect as shown by dose-dependent inhibition of PGE₁ (0.3 to 10 μg/ml).     

Mural thrombus in an ectatic right coronary artery caused acute myocardial infarction at downstream coronary artery

A 72-year-old woman was admitted to our institution because of sudden chest pain. Emergency coronary angiography revealed thrombotic occlusion of the distal right coronary artery. A large cylindrical thrombus was retrieved from her distal right coronary artery using a thrombus aspiration catheter. IVUS showed minimal atherosclerosis and moderate ectatic change at the proximal right coronary artery. A reconstructed IVUS image also showed that a mural thrombus with abrupt ending was still retained at the ectatic segment. Based on this evidence, coronary ectasia was thought to be the primary cause for the thrombus formation and acute myocardial infarction in this case.     

Congestive cardiomyopathy and left ventricular thrombus

A left ventricular thrombus was detected by echocardiography in a 54-year-old man with congestive cardiomyopathy. With the use of anticoagulants, the thrombus completely disappeared. Patients with congestive cardiomyopathy who are at high risk for thrombus formation should be screened with two-dimensional echocardiography. If a thrombus is recognized, anticoagulation therapy can then be instituted.     

Right atrial thrombus following surgical closure of atrial septal defect--a case report

A case of an 11-year-old girl with atrial septal defect is described. The patient underwent surgical closure of the defect, which was complicated by asymptomatic thrombus formation in the right atrium. Anticoagulant therapy was initially successful, but thrombus recurred. Surgical thrombus removal was successful.     

A case of acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas that formed extensive tumor thrombus of the portal vein

A 58-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of anorexia and back pain. He had been previously diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis with blood thrombus of the splenic vein at another hospital. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a large mass in the body and tail of the pancreas, which directly invaded the stomach and the spleen. Small nodular metastases in both lungs were also detected. Furthermore, tumor thrombus continuously involved the splenic and proximal superior mesenteric vein, main portal vein, and its right intrahepatic branch. A metastatic mass was disclosed in the adjacent liver. The specimens obtained from portal tumor thrombus were histologically compatible with acinar cell carcinoma. Portal tumor thrombus is a rare condition in pancreatic tumors; however, it seems to be important to differentiate tumor thrombus from blood thrombus of the portal vein in order to know the true clinical stage and provide a suitable treatment.     

Natural history of left ventricular thrombi: their appearance and resolution in the posthospitalization period of acute myocardial infarction

A series of 198 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction were prospectively studied before hospital discharge and during 24.0 +/- 8.6 months of follow-up. A predischarge thrombus was found in 38 (31%) of 124 patients with anterior infarction but in none of 74 patients with inferior infarction (p less than 0.001). Early thrombolytic therapy in 34 patients did not decrease the rate of thrombus occurrence. Acute anterior infarction, ejection fraction less than or equal to 35% and apical dyskinesia or aneurysm (but not akinesia) were significantly related to the appearance of thrombus during hospitalization by stepwise logistic regression analysis. Echocardiographic follow-up of 159 patients for at least 6 months (mean 26.6 +/- 8.4) revealed that thrombus disappeared in 14 (48%) of 29. Disappearance of thrombus was related to predischarge apical akinesia (but not dyskinesia) and to warfarin therapy during the follow-up period. A new thrombus first appeared after hospital discharge in 13 of 130 patients, and in 7 of the 13 it resolved during further follow-up. Thus, 30% (13 of 42) of thrombi in these patients appeared after discharge from the hospital. Three factors were related to occurrence of new thrombi during the follow-up period: deterioration in left ventricular ejection fraction, predischarge ejection fraction less than or equal to 35% and ventricular aneurysm or dyskinesia. Systemic embolism occurred in six patients, all with a predischarge thrombus (p less than 0.001). Mobility of the thrombus was the only variable significantly related to subsequent embolic events (p = 0.001) by logistic regression analysis. Thus, the predischarge echocardiogram identifies patients with thrombus and those at highest risk of embolic events. It can indicate patients who are likely to have thrombus resolution and those at risk of developing a new thrombus after hospital discharge. Follow-up echocardiograms may help in guiding the length of long-term anticoagulant therapy. Four additional patients with a predischarge apical mobile thrombus (not part of the consecutive series) received thrombolytic therapy. In two of the four, lysis of thrombus was achieved without complications, but systemic embolism occurred in the other two, and proved fatal in one.     

Giant right atrial thrombus in Noonan syndrome combined with Eisenmenger's complex

A 54-year-old woman with the Noonan syndrome was admitted with congestive heart failure and a giant right atrial thrombus with atrial septal defect detected by two-dimensional echocardiography. The thrombus vanished on oral anticoagulant therapy with warfarin. The thrombus is considered to result from hemostasis in the right atrium due to congestive heart failure and to her specific skeletal characteristics. This report describes the first case of Noonan syndrome with right atrial thrombus.     

Left ventricular thrombus in agnogenic myeloid metaplasia

A 40-year-old white male with agnogenic myeloid metaplasia presented to our institution with symptoms of fever, rash and pleuropericardial pain. A two-dimensional echocardiogram revealed a pedunculated left ventricular mass which simulated a left ventricular myxoma. Left ventricular wall motion and coronary arteries were normal on preoperative angiography. The mass was surgically removed and found to be fibrin thrombus. A mild chronic inflammatory infiltrate was present in the base of the thrombus. The formation of thrombus in the left ventricle was ascribed to spontaneous aggregation of platelets and myocarditis of unknown cause.     

Large thrombus at the site of primary sutured atrial septal defect associated with pulmonary embolism and treatment by thrombolysis

A 53-year-old man with a history of repair of atrial septal defect 3-months ago by primary suture was admitted to an emergency department with sudden onset chest pain and dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large and mobile thrombus attached to the right side of the interatrial septum. The chest X ray and perfusion lung scan established the diagnosis of the multiple pulmonary emboli. Doppler examination of the venous system for a possible source of thrombus was unremarkable. The postoperative early appearance of thrombus and multiple pulmonary emboli defects at lung scan supported that thrombus was originated from the primary suture site. Thrombolytic treatment achieved complete resolution of the thrombus both in the pulmonary artery and at the repaired septal defect site. The patient was placed on warfarin and thrombus was not detected by transesophageal echocardiography at the 9-month follow-up.     

A right atrial thrombus, attached to the inferior limb of the fossa ovalis.

A right thrombus was incidentally found in a 65-year-old male during mitral valve surgery. A mushroom-like thrombus was attached to the inferior limb of the fossa ovalis with broad based stalk. It developed in sinus rhythm and in the absence of evidence of blood stasis in the right atrium. The most likely pathogenesis of right atrial thrombus formation in this case is endocardial damage from right heart catheterization prior to surgery.     

Tumor thrombus in the splenic vein originated from gastric carcinoma that produced alpha-fetoprotein

A 72-year-old man was referred with an endoscopic diagnosis of Borrmann 2 type advanced gastric cancer. Further examination revealed tumor thrombus in the splenic vein and high serum level of alpha-fetoprotein without liver disease. Intraoperative ultrasonography revealed that tumor thrombus originated from gastric cancer extended to the splenic vein through the left gastric vein. Total gastrectomy combined with distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy was done to obtain complete resection of cancer and tumor thrombus. Tumor and its thrombus in the splenic vein were diagnosed as a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma that produced alpha-fetoprotein. We report the case, and discuss about the gastric cancer with portal tumor thrombus and high serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein.     

Antiphospholipid syndrome presenting as intracardiac thrombus with pulmonary embolism.

The presence of antiphospholipid antibodies is associated with arterial and venous thrombosis. A young female with initial presentation of dyspnea and cough that lasted for days is reported. A computed tomographic scan of her chest and echocardiography showed features of thrombus formation over the right atrium, complicated with pulmonary thromboembolism. Antiphospholipid syndrome was diagnosed according to elevated activated partial thromboplastin time, high serum titers of anticardiolipin antibody, and the presence of intracardiac thrombus with pulmonary embolism. This thrombus was subsequently removed successfully with surgical intervention, and the patient's recovery was uneventful.     

Two cases of a free-floating ball thrombus in the left atrium.

A free-floating ball thrombus in the left atrium is an unusual occurrence that may cause fatal systemic emboli or left ventricular inflow obstruction, often resulting in sudden death. The first of 2 cases was a 59-year-old female with mitral stenosis and chronic atrial fibrillation who presented with severe dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a free-floating ball thrombus and emergency thrombectomy and mitral valve replacement were performed successfully. A second thrombus, which was not found at preoperative examination, was attached to the anterior mitral leaflet and may have been the source of the free-floating ball thrombus. The second case was a 79-year-old female with chronic renal failure who underwent mitral valve replacement 11 years prior to admission. She had been dependent on hemodialysis for 10 years, and had suffered several recent transient cerebral ischemic attacks. Computed tomography showed a ring-shaped, high-density area in the left atrium and transthoracic echocardiography revealed a floating ball thrombus in the left atrium. Thrombectomy was performed, but the patient died as a result of postoperative pneumonia 2 months later. Case 2 appears to be the first reported case of a ball thrombus in a hemodialysis patient who had previously undergone mitral valve replacement.     

Mural thrombus generation in type 2A and 2B von Willebrand disease under flow conditions

To explore the mechanisms that underlie the bleeding tendency in type 2A and 2B von Willebrand disease (VWD), we analyzed the mural thrombus generation process on a collagen surface under physiologic blood flow in a perfusion chamber using whole blood from these VWD patients. At a low shear rate (50 s(-1)), thrombus generation in all type 2A and 2B VWD patients was comparable to that of healthy controls. At a high shear rate (1500 s(-1)), thrombus generation was impaired in all type 2A patients, whereas that in type 2B VWD patients varied from normal to significantly defective, as judged by epifluorescence microscopy of thrombus surface coverage. However, in type 2B patients who showed normal thrombus generation at 1500 s(-1), the height and volume of thrombi was significantly reduced, albeit with the normal surface coverage, compared with control thrombi, and von Willebrand factor (VWF) was poorly distributed within the type 2B thrombus mass when analyzed in detail by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Addition of purified VWF to patient blood completely reversed the defective spatial thrombus growth in type 2B VWD. Thus, our results confirm the impaired thrombus generation in type 2B VWD, which has never been demonstrable in previous in vitro soluble-phase platelet aggregation assays, and point to the critical function of larger VWF multimers in the proper spatial growth of mural thrombi under high shear rate conditions.     

Usefulness of adjunctive pulse infusion thrombolysis after failed aspiration for massive intracoronary thrombus

Slow/no-reflow phenomenon during emergent percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) results in a poor prognosis. A high thrombus burden was an independent predictor of angiographic slow/no-reflow phenomenon. We experienced a case of a STEMI patient with massive intracoronary thrombus. In our case, a massive red thrombus was aspirated easily by adjunctive pulse infusion thrombolysis (PIT) after failed aspiration. Adjunctive pulse infusion thrombolysis after failed aspiration might be a useful strategy to prevent the slow/no-reflow phenomenon in STEMI patients with massive intracoronary thrombus.     

Thrombus extrusion through filter wire basket

A 56‐year old male presenting with Acute Coronary Syndrome was found to have a large thrombus partially including a bypass graft bare metal stent. This thrombus was removed using a filter wire. The thrombus burden was so large that it caused extension through the filter wire basket, narrowly avoiding distal embolisation. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The role of intracoronary thrombus in unstable angina: angiographic assessment and thrombolytic therapy during ongoing anginal attacks

Intracoronary thrombus is regarded as a potentially important factor in the etiology of unstable angina, but the incidence of intracoronary thrombus in unstable angina has not been clearly defined. To determine the occurrence of intracoronary thrombus during ongoing angina pectoris, coronary angiography was performed during spontaneous ischemic attacks in 37 patients with prolonged rest angina. All patients exhibited significant (greater than 50%) stenoses of at least one major coronary artery. Of the 37 patients, 21 (57%) had intracoronary thrombus in major coronary arteries, whereas 14 (38%) had fixed narrowings without evidence of intracoronary thrombus and two exhibited coronary spasm. ST segment elevation was observed in 16 of 21 patients with thrombus and in all of the patients with coronary spasm, but all the patients with organic stable obstruction showed ST segment depression. Twenty of the 21 patients with thrombus improved after thrombolytic therapy with intracoronary injection of urokinase; obstructed arteries were reopened, or narrowings were attenuated, with relief of ischemic symptoms. In patients with fixed obstructions, the rate-pressure product during active symptoms was significantly higher than during an asymptomatic period, indicating that a transient increase in myocardial oxygen demand may contribute to the ischemic attack in these patients. A high incidence (71%) of recurrent symptoms was observed in patients with intracoronary thrombus even after successful thrombolysis, in contrast to a much lower incidence (36%) in those without intracoronary thrombus. Myocardial infarction within 4 weeks after catheterization was observed more frequently in patients with intracoronary thrombus (24%) than in those without thrombus (7%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Recurrent cerebral embolism and impending detachment of a previous nonmobile left atrial thrombus following initiation of anticoagulant therapy in a patient with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation

A 65-year-old female with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who presented with a transient ischemic attack was admitted to our hospital. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed a nonmobile thrombus attached to the wall of the left atrial appendage. She suffered from a new episode of syncope on the 8th day following initiation of anticoagulant therapy. Follow-up TEE indicated not only that the left atrial (LA) thrombus decreased in size but also that the previous nonmobile thrombus became mobile and showed impending detachment. Urgent surgery was subsequently performed to remove the LA thrombus, and the patient recovered uneventfully. In conclusion, anticoagulant therapy may precipitate partial fragmentation or partial detachment of LA thrombus.     

Transatrial resection of a left ventricular thrombus after acute myocarditis

A mobile and pedunculated left ventricular thrombus developed after acute myocarditis in a 49-year-old woman. Surgical removal is recommended for cases such as this, especially when the ventricular thrombus is pedunculated or mobile. The thrombus was successfully removed by left atriotomy. There was no evidence of recurrent thrombus formation on the 50th day after surgery.