Cardiac Arrest upon Induction of General Anesthesia: Transesophageal Echocardiography-assisted Diagnosis of Impending Paradoxical Embolus

Abstract

CARDIAC arrest occurring upon the induction of general anesthesia in an otherwise healthy patient is distinctly rare. It is even more unusual to discover its etiology to be an impending paradoxical embolus (IPE). We present a case in which the timely use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), implemented during the course of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, revealed a large transatrial thromboembolus which had been trapped in transit through a patent foramen ovale.