Publication Date
1-1-2013
Journal
The Texas Heart Journal
PMID
24391336
Publication Date(s)
2013
Language
English
PMCID
PMC3853815
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
2013
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-Print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Cor triatriatum/complications/diagnosis/surgery, heart atria/abnormalities, heart defects, congenital/surgery, syncope/etiology, treatment outcome
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Cor triatriatum sinister, a congenital cardiac anomaly involving a fibromuscular membrane that partitions the left atrium into 2 chambers, has been reported in only 0.1% to 0.4% of patients with congenital heart disease. The posterosuperior chamber receives blood from the pulmonary veins, and the anteroinferior chamber contains the left atrial appendage and mitral valve orifice. Most patients are diagnosed with the condition in infancy or childhood; adult cases are rare. We describe a case of cor triatriatum sinister in a 43-year-old man whose only presenting symptom was recurrent syncope. He underwent corrective resection of the membrane and was asymptomatic thereafter. In addition to discussing the patient's case, we review the relevant medical literature.