Echocardiographic diagnosis of left ventricular thrombi

Abstract

Left ventricular thrombi have not been commonly recognized by M-mode or by cross-sectional echocardiographic techniques despite their frequency at postmortem examination in patients dying of cardiovascular disease. We discuss two patients, with left ventricular thrombi recognized echocardiographically and confirmed by pathologic and/or angiographic evaluation, whose M-mode and cross-sectional echocardiographic abnormalities add to the variable spectrum of appearance of left ventricular thrombi. The sensitivity and specificity of echocardiographic techniques in the diagnosis of intracardiac thrombi are discussed.