False alarm for a cardiac pseudomass during a pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Incidental findings during imaging studies may constitute a diagnostic pitfall. We report a case of a cardiac mass in right atrium identified during a pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. A physiological tissue corresponding to a prominent crista terminalis was assumed and confirmed by multimodality imaging techniques, while a malignancy was, also, ruled out concerning the personal history of the patient. A prominent crista terminalis is frequent finding in magnetic resonance, but its appearance prevalence in transthoracic echocardiography is unknown. A proper diagnosis of a prominent crista terminalis may be facilitated in the future by the improvement of ultrasound imaging techniques and the awareness of its existence. *Correspondence to: Sofia Chatzikyriakou, Department of Cardiology, CUBHôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Tel: 0032(0)25553907; E-mail: sofia.chatzikyriakou@erasme.ulb.ac.be