Why the study?
Is left atrial spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis?
Population
168 consecutive patients with predominant rheumatic mitral stenosis, including 77 with atrial fibrillation…
Design
Cross-sectional
Authors
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Supports TEE assessment of SEC for thromboembolism risk stratification in mitral stenosis; leaves open prospective validation before guiding therapy.
Is left atrial spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis?
Left atrial spontaneous echo contrast detected by TEE is a strong, independent predictor of thromboembolic risk in patients with mitral stenosis, regardless of rhythm or left atrial size.
Acartürk et al. (1997) studied this question.
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