Echocardiographic picture of left atrial appendage thrombi in patients with atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Aim. To present the echocardiographic picture of the presence of thrombi in the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation in the outpatient stage.Material and research methods. The study involved 56 patients with permanent atrial fibrillation, observed in outpatient conditions at the National Medical Center of the Republic of Tajikistan “Shifobakhsh” between 2019 and 2022. All patients underwent transesophageal echocardiography using standard methodology.Research results. According to the results of transesophageal echocardiography, all patients (n=56) were divided into two groups: Group I - 42 (75%) with no thrombosis in the left atrial appendage; Group II - 14 (25%) with the presence of a thrombosis. Patients with thrombosis of the left atrial appendage had a high degree of thromboembolic, hemorrhagic risk, left atrial enlargement and a low level of peak blood flow velocity. At the same time, the phenomenon of spontaneous echo contrast in patients with thrombosis was on average 22% higher compared to the subgroup without thrombosis.Conclusions. Our data showed that during transesophageal echocardiography in patients with atrial fibrillation, peak blood flow velocity and spontaneous echo contrast can be taken as predictors of thrombosis of the left atrial appendage.