NYMC Faculty Publications

Review of the Etiology, Diagnosis, and Therapy of Left Atrial Thrombus

Author Type(s)

Resident/Fellow, Faculty

DOI

10.1097/CRD.0000000000000592

Journal Title

Cardiology in Review

First Page

135

Last Page

138

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2025

Department

Medicine

Keywords

atrial fibrillation, left atrial appendage, left atrial thrombus, nonvitamin K oral anticoagulants, transesophageal echocardiography

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

Thrombi in the left atrial appendage (LAA) are an important cause of systemic thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. The gold standard for the diagnosis of LAA thrombi is a transesophageal echocardiogram, although cardiac multidetector computed tomography, intracardiac echocardiogram, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging are alternative diagnostic imaging modalities. When an LAA thrombus is diagnosed, effective anticoagulation is recommended for at least 3 weeks or until thrombus resolution is confirmed on repeat transesophageal echocardiogram. Recent prospective research shows the efficacy of nonvitamin K oral anticoagulants in the treatment of LAA thrombus, which offers a promising alternative to vitamin K antagonists. As an alternative approach, left atrial aspiration thrombectomy has been described in case reports, though there is limited evidence comparing its efficacy to anticoagulation alone.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS