This case highlights a rare and severe extracardiac complication of a giant left atrium in rheumatic heart disease, leading to complete left lung consolidation due to bronchial compression.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Alerts clinicians to monitor for bronchial compression in giant left atrium; hypothesis-generating for management in rheumatic heart disease.
Giant left atrium is most commonly associated with rheumatic mitral valve disease, causing a series of cardiac and extracardiac complications. Cardiac complications are often reported, such as atrial fibrillation, decreased cardiac output, and atrial thrombus formation. Extracardiac complications are rarely described in the literature. We report an unusual case of a 55-year-old woman who was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease 20 years earlier. Her chief complaints were episodes of chest tightness and difficulty breathing, which she had for more than 30 years. Echocardiography showed severe mitral stenosis with severe mitral insufficiency. Contrast-enhanced chest CT showed that the left thoracic cavity was occupied by a giant left atrium. The left main bronchus was compressed, and the left lung showed complete consolidation without pulmonary function.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Yang et al. (2018) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: