Abstract 10017: Which Thrombi at the Apex of the Left Ventricle Were More Prone for Embolization and Stroke?

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with apical thrombus due to anterior wall ST segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (AWMI) or dilated cardiomyopathy (DilCM) have high risk of emboli, including stroke. Hypothesis: Which factor of a thrombus at the apex of the left ventricle makes it vulnerable for or resistant to embolization? Is it its loose (or well organized) tissue formation as a fresh (or old) thrombus so it disintegrates quickly (or stays resistant) and becomes vulnerable for (or less prone to) embolization? Methods: Patients with AWMI or DilCM with apical thrombus by echo were consecutively enrolled. Patients with atrial fibrillation were excluded. The data to be collected included: (1) Time of discovery of apical thrombi by echo to time of stroke (2) result of treatment (thrombolysis with long term vit K antagonists vs novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) and (3) pattern of recovery. Results: From 2010-2021, there were 32 patients identified with apical thrombus. 12 patients due to AWMI and 20 patients due to Dil CM. 3 AWMI patients developed stroke (25%) within a mean of 7.5 days after discovery while only 2 patients with Dil CM had stroke (10%) 21 days after discovery (p<0.05). At the time of stroke, all apical thrombi of AWMI patients were small, of round shape, protruding out and of heterogenous consistency (mixed black and white intensity on echo). The patients responded well to thrombolysis and recovered near completely. While for patients with Dil CM, all apical thrombi were moderately large, of flat surface incorporating into the contour of the apex, non-protruding and of homogenous consistency. When these patients had stroke, the size of stroke was large and more resistant to thrombolysis. Their recovery was slow with a lot of deficits. Conclusions: For apical thrombi from AWMI, the thrombi were fresh so they disintegrated quickly and could cause more stroke however because of their smaller size and loose consistency, the recovery was more complete. The apical thrombi from Dil CM were more organized so they dissolved more slowly, caused less stroke however they were more resistant to thrombolysis. Their recovery was more limited. Larger database needs to confirm the above findings and their clinical implications.