Left ventricular thrombus in patients with COVID-19 – A case series

Abstract

Scarred culprit vessel territory secondary to nonreperfused myocardial infarctions (MIs), nonischemic cardiomyopathy, left ventricular (LV) noncompaction, endomyocardial fibrosis, and long-standing arrythmias are usually causes of LV thrombus (LVT) formation. However, in the setting of MI, large infarctions, apical akinesia or dyskinesia, LV aneurysms are often predisposed t'o the formation of LVT. The hypercoagulable or inflammatory disorder can rarely predispose to the formation of LVT. In early prethrombolytic and thrombolytic periods, LVT was present in 20%–50% of patients in the context of acute MI, more commonly in acute anterior or apical MI. While the incidence of LVT has dropped in recent times, its identification is expected to rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with chest pain are more likely to delay initial hospitalization because of a fear of contracting COVID-19. Infection with COVID-19 was associated with the remarkably hypercoagulable state which increased the risk of the early development of LVT in the setting of MI or underlying prethrombotic conditions. We present a series of four cases in which COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease were characterized by various configurations of large LVT.