Echocardiography has greatly enhanced the field of cardiology. However, optimal use of echocardiography requires the ability to recognize and differentiate pathological conditions from normal cardiac structures and their variants that may simulate serious pathology. Although errors can occur with both…
Acknowledgment The authors acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Vrinda Sardana, who was the author of this chapter in the previous edition. Right heart thrombi (RHT) are relatively common but can often be missed on routine echocardiography without careful image acquisition…
Pathogenesis of Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Formation The left atrial appendage (LAA) is by far the most common location for an atrial thrombus with extra-appendage thrombi being very rare in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Thrombus forms within the LAA primarily…
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the contributions of Drs. Amr E. Abbas, MD, and Steven J. Lester, MD, who were the authors of this chapter in the previous edition. Left Ventricular Thrombus With Impaired Left Ventricular Function Thrombus formation within the…
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the contribution of Jason Kim, who provided Fig. 125.1 , and the contributions of Drs. Zoe Yu and Gillian Murtagh, who were authors of this chapter in the previous edition. Cardiac masses are often the subject…
Acknowledgement The authors thank Dr. Sonia Jain for her contribution to this chapter in the previous edition. Pericardial Cysts Pericardial cysts are benign intrathoracic lesions accounting for 6% of all mediastinal masses. They are typically unilocular, contain serous fluid, and…
Effusive constrictive pericarditis is the least common of the pericardial constraint syndromes. It is defined as the persistence of elevated intracardiac pressure after pericardiocentesis for pericardial tamponade. It was first recognized in the 1920s and 1930s when surgical pericardiectomy became…
Acknowledgment The authors acknowledge the American Society of Echocardiography for allowing us to reproduce Figs. 122.1 to 122.3 . Constrictive pericarditis (CP) is a relatively rare disorder in which the stiff, poorly compliant pericardium interferes with ventricular filling, causing elevation…
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the coauthors of the preceding editions of the chapter on pericardial tamponade—Drs. Richard Kutnick, R. Parker Ward, and Roberto M. Lang—for providing the structure for the current update and the included echocardiography and Doppler illustrations. Normal…
Acknowledgment The authors thank Dr. Sonia Jain for her contribution to this chapter in the previous edition. Definition Pericarditis refers to a symptomatic inflammation of the pericardium and can be categorized as acute, incessant (episode lasting 4–12 weeks without remission),…