Dilation of left cardiac chambers offers a suitable terrain for thrombus formation. The high probability of LAA thrombosis should be kept in mind when designing the treatment strategy for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy at sinus rhythm.
Introduction:Thromboembolic events are a frequent cause of mortality in patients with congestive heart failure. The aim of or study was to evaluate the relationship of left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) to left atrial (LA) size and left atrial appendage (LAA) size in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy in sinus rhythm, as well as to determine the prevalence of thrombi in LV and LA /LAA.Methods:This was a prospective cross-sectional study, conducted from December 2009 until December 2011. The study included 95 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy in sinus rhythm. Patients with swallowing problems, acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation/flatter, severe systolic dysfunction, and/or patients who were taking oral anticoagulation therapy were excluded.Results:Mean patient age was 58.6 ± 12.2 years and 68.4% were men. Mean LVEDD of our population was 66.5 ± 6.5 mm, while mean LA atrium, LA volume and LAA maximal area were 46 ± 5.1 mm, 87.2 ± 38.7 cm3 and 4.7 ± 1.2 cm2, respectively. LA diameter (p<0.001) and LAA maximal area (p=0.01) showed to be independent predictors of LV size. LV thrombus was detected in 13 (13.7%) patients, while LAA thrombus in 46 (48.4%) patients of our study population.Conclusions:In conclusion, dilated LV size is associated with enlarged LA and LAA size. On the other hand, dilation of LV, LA and LAA is related to high prevalence of left chamber cardiac thrombi.
We consider that our study sheds light to the high possibility of LAA thrombi formation in addition to LV thrombi in patients with chronic dilated ischemic cardiomyopathy in sinus rhythm. LV size, LV EF, LAA maximal area and lack of aspirin therapy are shown to be independent predictors of left heart chamber thrombi in this patient category.
Introduction:The coronary anatomic variation of the left circumflex artery (LCx) is considered as the most common anatomic variation with a separate ostium from the right sinus, and very unusual variation as a proximal branch of right coronary artery (RCA).Case report:We report two cases, the first case is a 64-year-old man with chest pain and with history of hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia and current smoker, and the second case is a 67-year-old who presented to the emergency department with chest pain and with a past medical history of arterial hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In the coronarography of the first case is detected an ectopic left circumflex coronary artery from the right coronary sinus with stenotic changes in RCA and LCx. The second case in the coronary angiography revealed an ectopic left circumflex coronary artery from the proximal part of the right coronary artery with stenotic changes in LAD, RCA and LCx. Based on guidelines for revascularization our patients successfully underwent treatment procedures. We present two cases that because of the atherosclerotic coronary artery disease leads to the need of coronarography find out the presence of coronary artery anomalies.Conclusion:During the coronarography we should think about coronary artery anomaly or missing artery knowing that type of these anomalies, considering that may be a contributing factor in the development of the atherosclerosis determines the method of the treatment.
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