Left atrial calcification; report of eight cases verified at surgery for the relief of mitral stenosis.

Abstract

In 1949, Epstein (1) reported 3 cases of left atrial calcification in rheumatic heart disease diagnosed roentgenologically during life and noted that only 2 other such cases appeared in the literature. Since that time numerous other reports have been published (2–6). Although somewhat less than half of the recorded cases have been accompanied by necropsy data (2, 3), stress has been laid upon the probable endocardial location of the calcium. Attention has been invited to the rheumatic endocardial lesion of MacCallum (7) as the probable calcium nidus (1). The frequency of the MacCallum lesion in rheumatic heart disease has also been noted, as well as the probable infrequency of calcific deposits within it (1, 8). As a basis for this report, x-ray film studies and the recorded fluoroscopic findings of 300 patients examined prior to mitral commissurotomy for the relief of mitral stenosis were reviewed. Eight cases of left atrial calcification were found. In all but 2 instances the tip of the atrial appendage...