Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2026

The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 28, 2012
Abstract:
A case with a ball thrombus in the left atrium with a normal mitral orifice is presented. This is an extremely rare combination. The patient, aged 76, suffered from attacks of cyanosis, dyspnoea and shock because of lodging of the thrombus in the mitral orifice. In addition she had abdominal pain. The autopsy showed the thrombus in a dilated left atrium, and there were recent infarctions in the liver and a thrombus in the left renal artery. The clinical diagnosis is difficult because of the rarity of this phenomenon, but one should think of emboli from the left atrium, when an atrial fibrillation is diagnosed. One should also consider the possibility of a myxoma with these symptoms.
Related Concept Videos
Chambers of the Heart
Deoxygenated blood from the body is received in the right...
Coronary Circulation
Coronary circulation begins at the base of the aorta, where two main arteries arise—the left and right coronary arteries. These arteries encircle the heart in the coronary sulcus and supply the...
Cardiac Catheterization III: Left Heart Catheterization
Mitral Stenosis I: Introduction
Venous Thrombosis I: Introduction
Pulmonary Embolism I: Introduction

