A Case of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Arising from Right Atrial Thrombi Underlying Rheumatic Valvular Heart Disease and Thoracic Aorta Atherosclerotic Stenosis

Keun-Bae Yoo, Joon Sim, Yang-Hee Lim, Jin-Hwa Lee*, Gil-Ja Shin*

Copyright ⓒ 1998. Ewha Womans University School of Medicine. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Dec 31, 1998

Abstract

Most pulmonary thromboemboli arise from the deep vein thrombosis, which have complete clinical and at least near complete roentgenographic and angiographic resolution within four to six week of the acute event.

But chronic pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale from unresolved pulmonary embolism complicate acute embolic episode with a frequency of less than 1 percent. Rarely pulmonary thromboemboli can result from right atrial thrombi.

We experienced a case of chronic thromoboembolic pulmonary hypertension, which wrose from right atrial thrombi in the patient with rheumatic valvaular heart disease and thoracic aorta atherosclerotics stenosis.

Keywords: Pulmonary thromboem bolism; Rheumatic valvular heart disease; Right atrial thrombi; Pulmonary hypertension