Key result
Right atrial thrombosis is a potentially under-detected complication of atrial fibrillation that can lead to pulmonary embolism, highlighting the need for careful screening with transesophageal echocardiography.
Why the study?
The prevalence of right atrial thrombosis is debated, with discrepancies between echocardiographic and autoptic studies suggesting potential underdetection from limited non-invasive imaging evaluation.
Right atrial thrombosis in atrial fibrillation may be under-detected by current non-invasive imaging techniques, warranting increased clinical awareness.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Right atrial thrombi may be under-detected in AF; leaves open need for prospective imaging studies.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the general population. Systemic thromboembolism from left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombosis is a well-known complication of AF, whereas thromboembolic complications from a right atrial (RA) thrombus are infrequent. Nevertheless, the prevalence of RA thrombosis is debated; despite having a low prevalence in echocardiographic studies, the higher prevalence found in autoptic studies rises the hypothesis of an under detection of RA clots, possibly related to the limited evaluation of right atrial appendage (RAA) with non-invasive imaging. Here we present a review of the current literature about RA thrombosis, regarding its diagnosis, differentials, and best treatment options.
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Degiovanni et al. (2022) conducted a review in Right atrial thrombosis in atrial fibrillation. Right atrial thrombosis is a potentially under-detected complication of atrial fibrillation that can lead to pulmonary embolism, highlighting the need for careful screening with transesophageal echocardiography.
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