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Updated: Jul 13, 2026
07:41
Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
Published on: February 8, 2022
Delayed diagnosis of a post-traumatic ventricular aneurysm?
Marcin Dada1, Luc Noyez, Freek W A Verheugt
1Department of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Heart Center, University Medical Center Nijmegen, St. Radboud, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
|August 3, 2007
Summary
A calcified mass, likely an old hematoma from a prior chest trauma, caused heart compression and failure in a 52-year-old man. Surgical resection of the ventricular aneurysm provided a successful outcome.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Thoracic Surgery
- Trauma Surgery
Background:
- A 52-year-old male presented with new-onset pleural effusion and congestive heart failure following orthopedic surgery.
- Cardiac compression symptoms were attributed to a calcified mass impinging on the right atrium and ventricle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the etiology of a cardiac-compressing calcified mass in a patient with heart failure.
- To determine the relationship between a remote blunt chest trauma and the development of the cardiac mass.
Main Methods:
- Diagnostic imaging to identify the calcified mass and its cardiac impact.
- Surgical resection of the identified mass.
- Histopathological examination of the resected tissue.
Main Results:
- A large, calcified mass compressing the right heart chambers was discovered.
- The patient recalled a history of blunt chest trauma 34 years prior.
- The resected mass was consistent with an organized hematoma, suggestive of a post-traumatic ventricular aneurysm.
Conclusions:
- A remote, occult post-traumatic ventricular aneurysm can manifest decades later as a calcified hematoma causing cardiac compression and failure.
- Surgical intervention for such rare complications can be effective.
- Highlighting the importance of considering remote trauma in the differential diagnosis of cardiac masses.
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