Usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosing lipomatous hypertrophy of the atrial septum with comparison to transthoracic echocardiography

doi:10.1016/0002-9149(92)90629-D

The American Journal of Cardiology

Volume 70, Issue 3, 1 August 1992, Pages 396-398

https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9149(92)90629-D Get rights and content

Abstract

Lipomatous hypertrophy of the atrial septum (LHAS) is an infrequently observed entity characterized by an unencapsulated proliferation of mature and multivacuolated adipose tissue within the interatrial septum.^1–3 It has been suggested that LHAS is associated with an increased incidence of supraventricular dysrhythmias, sudden death, obesity, abnormal P waves on electrocardiography, and advanced age.^1–5 Whereas initial descriptions of this entity were from autopsy studies,^1–3,5 in vivo diagnosis of LHAS has been described using transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).^4,6–8 Recently, it was found that transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) may be superior to TTE in the detection of abnormalities associated with the atrial septum.⁹ Thus, we hypothesized that TEE would be a superior technique to detect LHAS in a referral population and would enable the characterization of a group of patients with this entity.

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Citation Excerpt :
MRI can provide additional information (Figure 2) about the extension of the process into the interventricular septum and ventricular free wall and is useful in distinguishing fat from solid, fibrous, or cystic tissue.18 Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography and TEE are often the diagnostic modalities of choice for identifying LASH (Figure 3 and Video 1, available at www.onlinejase.com; Figures 4A and 4B and Videos 2 and 3, available at www.onlinejase.com).7,24 Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) and three-dimensional TEE (Figure 4C and Video 4; available at www.onlinejase.com) may provide additional information to aid in making the correct diagnosis.
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Brief reportUsefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosing lipomatous hypertrophy of the atrial septum with comparison to transthoracic echocardiography

Abstract

Hum Pathol

Am Heart J

J Am Coll Cardiol

Am Heart J

Am J Cardiol

Brief report
Usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosing lipomatous hypertrophy of the atrial septum with comparison to transthoracic echocardiography