A rare case of mobile ball-like mass in right atrium associated with dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Mobile thrombus in the Right Atrium (RA) is a rare condition. Here, we described a case of a 59-year-old male who presented in emergency room with complaints of progressively worsening dyspnea for 7 years. He was normotensive, had elevated jugular venous pressure and clear lungs. ECG revealed ventricular tachycardia. After successfully electrical defibrillation, an urgent 2D echocardiogram was obtained and revealed the enlargement of all heart chambers and a ball-like, mobile mass in the right atrium. An emergent CT scan revealed no sign of pulmonary embolism. Based on morphological features on echocardiogram, we highly suspected it as RA thrombus. The patient was treated with anticoagulant therapy comprising of low molecular heparin and warfarin since he rejected surgical treatment. Repeat echocardiogram was performed 7 days after anticoagulant therapy and showed disappearance of the RA mass. He was subsequently maintained on warfarin (INR=2.4- 3.0) and other medications for heart failure. The patient was followed up as outpatient and kept in good clinical condition. We concluded that early recognition of this rare situation and prompt management can help in preventing life-threatening complications, and anticoagulant therapy was a therapeutic option for RA thrombus.