A curious case of an absent left atrial appendage.
Narayana Sarma V SingamRakesh GopinathannairJeffrey M StidamNaresh K SolankhiMatthew BessenMarcus F StoddardPublished in: Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) (2018)
The left atrial appendage (LAA) in the setting of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is the predominant location for intracardiac thrombus formation. An absent LAA is a very rare congenital cardiac anomaly. We present a case of a 79-year-old female with NVAF, high CHADS2VASC2 score, and high bleeding risk who presented for elective Watchman™ left atrial appendage closure device implant. A pre-procedural transesophageal echocardiography showed an absent LAA. This finding was confirmed with cardiac computed tomography and a left atrial angiogram. The patient was discharged on medical therapy with close outpatient follow-up.
Keyphrases
- left atrial appendage
- atrial fibrillation
- left atrial
- catheter ablation
- computed tomography
- left ventricular
- oral anticoagulants
- direct oral anticoagulants
- heart failure
- healthcare
- percutaneous coronary intervention
- positron emission tomography
- magnetic resonance imaging
- patients undergoing
- mitral valve
- pulmonary hypertension
- magnetic resonance
- soft tissue
- bone marrow
- venous thromboembolism
- aortic valve