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European Heart Journal Advance Access originally published online on October 17, 2005
European Heart Journal 2006 27(2):200; doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehi521
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© The European Society of Cardiology 2005. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Striking left atrial enlargement as a consequence of mitral valve disease

R. Nijveldt*, P.A. Dijkmans, G.Tj. Sieswerda, O. Kamp and A.C. van Rossum

Department of Cardiology 6N-120, VU University Medical Center, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: r.nijveldt{at}vumc.nl

A 76-year-old woman was referred to our imaging department for evaluation of known mitral valve stenosis (MVS). The patient had been diagnosed as having MVS for 16 years and underwent balloon dilatation 10 years ago. During follow-up at the outpatient clinic, she refused any further interventional treatment. Recently, she was admitted to our emergency department with an acute myocardial infarction, which was treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Chest X-ray demonstrated a strikingly enlarged heart, mainly due to left atrial dilatation (Panel A). Transthoracic 2D-echocardiography revealed a moderately decreased left ventricular function, MVS with severe mitral valve regurgitation and a dilated left atrium (LA) (Panel B, movie 1). As she also had post-infarction angina pectoris with left main stem disease, CABG and mitral valve replacement were considered. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed for pre-operative evaluation and demonstrated a LA of 9x11x15 cm3 (1.5 L), a moderate to severe MVS (area 1.4 cm2), and a severe mitral valve regurgitation with a central jet (Panels C and D, movie 2). Left and right ventricular function was preserved. The patient was referred for CABG, mitral valve replacement, and surgical reduction of the LA.

Panel A. Chest X-ray anterior-posterior showing cardiomegaly.

Panel B. Transthoracic 2D-echocardiography. Apical four-chamber view.

Panel C. Cine MRI in systole. Three-chamber view with aorta (Ao), left ventricle (LV), and LA.

Panel D. Cine MRI in diastole. Three-chamber view withAo, LV, and LA.


{ehi52101}


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This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
27/2/200    most recent
ehi521v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
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Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
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Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
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Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nijveldt, R.
Right arrow Articles by van Rossum, A.C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nijveldt, R.
Right arrow Articles by van Rossum, A.C.
Social Bookmarking
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What's this?