Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is a rare life-threatening mechanical complication secondary to acute myocardial infarction that usually occurs 2 to 8 days after infarction and frequently precipitates cardiogenic shock. The mortality rate for VSR has been reported to be between 41% and 80%; therefore, immediate surgical intervention should be considered. Furthermore, VSR is a complication of 0.17% to 0.31% of patients who present with an anterior myocardial infarction. Because of the rarity of this pathology, the role of transthoracic echocardiographic investigation will help to improve what is already considered a poor prognosis for these types of patients. This case study illustrates how transthoracic echocardiography plays an essential role in the rapid assessment and diagnosis of VSR in clinical practice.
A tumor is an excessive growth of cells that results from the body’s inability to balance the growth of new cells and the destruction of old cells. Tumors can occur throughout the body and are classified as either benign or malignant. However, cardiac tumors are a rare occurrence. When present, several imaging modalities are available to illustrate their presence and characteristics. Not all cardiac masses look similar and, depending on their size and location, may pose different health risks to the patient. This case series introduces six left atrial myxomas with dissimilar appearances initially detected by transthoracic echocardiography, along with cross-correlation by transesophageal echocardiography, computed tomography, and mechanical resonance imaging.
Mitral valve (MV) pathology, along with its associated peripheral anatomy, is one of the most common categories of heart disease. Two-dimensional (2D) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) plays a prominent role in the detection and management of various types MV disease, specifically mitral annular disjunction (MAD). MAD is defined as a structural abnormality of the mitral annulus fibrosus, causing a noticeable gap between the atrial wall-mitral valve junction and the basilar portion of the left ventricular free wall (LV). The integral role that cardiac sonographers play in identifying MAD cannot be underscored, as well as the risk of easily overlooking this unique abnormality. Often associated with mitral valve prolapse (MVP), accurate documentation of MAD amid an echocardiographic study can have positive implications on patient prognosis. This case series highlights the echocardiographic characteristics of MAD, to raise awareness of this often forgotten feature of myxomatous mitral valves, which can indeed cause adverse patient outcomes. It is important to demonstrate correlational features with additional imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT).
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