Right superior vena cava drainage into the left atrium revealed by multiples strokes after pacemaker implantation

Abstract

An 84-year-old woman had undergone dual-chamber pacemaker implantation in a primary care hospital for sick sinus syndrome. The leads were inserted through the right subclavian vein because the patient was left-handed. One year later, she suffered from an ischemic stroke. During ventricular pacing, ECG showed a right bundle branch block pattern, and chest radiography (Figure 1A) suggested that pacing lead tips were in the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle. After transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, it was initially thought that the leads passed through a patent foramen ovale.