View larger version (90K):
|
A 71-year-old man who had had rheumatic fever as a child presented with prosthetic-valve endocarditis. A mitral valvotomy had been performed 37 years before, and 21 years later, his mitral valve was replaced with a Starr–Edwards prosthesis. Lateral chest radiography showed complete calcification of the left atrial wall (Panel A, arrows). A transesophageal echocardiogram showed calcification of the interatrial septum (Panel B, arrow). This rare condition was first described in 1898, in association with chronic rheumatic mitral disease, and is more common in women, most of whom have symptoms for more than 20 years. The condition is assumed to be . . . [Full Text of this Article] |
Previous
