Why the study?
Differentiating cardiac thrombi from tumors or vegetations is clinically important due to differing therapeutic and prognostic implications, but thrombi have variable imaging features.
Cardiac MRI offers advanced capabilities over traditional echocardiography for the detection and characterization of cardiac thrombi, aiding in differentiation from other cardiac masses.
Thrombus represents the most common cardiac mass compared to primary or secondary cardiac tumors. It has variable size, shape, location, and imaging features. Differentiating the cardiac mass as a tumor, thrombus, or vegetation is clinically important due to their different therapeutic implications and prognostic outcomes. Thrombi carry an inherent risk of systemic and pulmonary embolism and warrant appropriate anticoagulation. For over two decades, echocardiography (transthoracic as well as transesophageal) has been the gold standard investigation to detect intracardiac thrombi. However, recent advances in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging allow higher sensitivity and specificity in the detection of thrombi and the assessment of the age of the thrombi by characterization of their contents. The objective of this review is to demonstrate different imaging presentations of cardiac thrombi and how imaging can help differentiate it from other mimics.
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Kulkarni et al. (2022) conducted a review in Cardiac thrombi. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging vs. Echocardiography was evaluated.
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