Premium
Echocardiographic Recognition of Left Ventricular Mural Thrombus
Author(s) -
BARBERA SAVERIO,
HILLIS L. DAVID
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
echocardiography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1540-8175
pISSN - 0742-2822
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8175.1999.tb00817.x
Subject(s) - thrombus , medicine , cardiology , left ventricular thrombus , myocardial infarction , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , complication , embolization , warfarin , infarction , atrial fibrillation
Left ventricular (LV) mural thrombus is a well recognized complication of acute myocardial infarction. In survivors of infarction, its incidence is influenced by the location and magnitude of infarction: it occurs often in patients with large anterior Q wave infarctions, particularly in the presence of LV apical akinesis or dyskinesis. Although radionuclide imaging with indium‐111‐labeled platelets, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging may be used to identify LV mural thrombus, two‐dimensional echocardiography is the technique of choice for assessing its presence, shape, and size, and recent technical advances in echocardiographic methodology, such as high‐frequency, short‐focal‐length transducers, have improved the echocardiographic assessment of LV mural thrombus. In the patient in whom a mural thrombus is identified, acute and chronic anticoagulation (with heparin and warfarin, respectively) is indicated: first, to prevent further thrombus formation and, second, to reduce the incidence of systemic embolization.