And if the Ventricle was Innocent?: The Rare Case of the Guilty Atrium

Abstract

The literature is full of clinical cases related to the giant left atrium (GLA), which is a cause of compression of the left ventricle, giving related symptoms including dyspnea, dysphagia and atrial fibrillation. In these settings we are presenting though an interesting case report of a patient of 82 years old man with an abnormal enlarged left atrium, who was admitted by our department for aggravated dyspnea. The transthoracic echocardiogram performed in our department showed a surprisingly dilated left atrium and compressed left ventricle which over time caused dyspnea, with significant images. Therefore, we conclude that the incomplete and inadequate ventricular filling, causing the diastolic dysfunction, are caused by compression of the left ventricle from the huge left atrium.