Intracardiac thrombosis associated with an acute consumption coagulopathy

A 53-year-old man with a prior history of myocardial infarcts and small cell lung cancer presented with lower limb ischemia. Laboratory tests revealed acute consumption coagulopathy and echocardiography showed massive intracavitary thrombi in the right atrium and both ventricles. Despite the administration of heparin, the patient died 3 weeks later of ventricular fibrillation. Autopsy demonstrated no relapse of lung cancer but large old myocardial infarcts.