Incidental finding of cor triatriatum in an asymptomatic elite athlete

Cor triatriatum was diagnosed in an asymptomatic professional football player when he underwent cardiovascular evaluation to rule out conditions that can potentially cause sudden cardiac death in the young. Cor triatriatum is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by failure of resorption of common pulmonary vein resulting in division of left atrium into two chambers. Communication between the two divided atrial chambers determines the degree of obstruction. In this particular case, there were two defects in the membrane, which allowed left atrial filling. The filling pressures were not elevated and, hence, the athlete was asymptomatic. The literature review has suggested that cor triatriatum has been incidentally diagnosed in asymptomatic adults and elderly individuals, however, this case demonstrates incidental diagnosis of the condition in an elite athlete capable of performing extreme exertion.