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(Circulation. 1997;95:273.)
© 1997 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Single Atrium

Daniel G. Blanchard, MD; Emily Dyson Scott, MD

the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, UCSD Medical Center and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

Correspondence to Daniel G. Blanchard, MD, UCSD Medical Center, 200 W Arbor St, San Diego, CA 92103-8411.

	Introduction

 
A 26-year-old obese woman presented with progressive exertional dyspnea and cyanosis. Visualization of the heart by transthoracic echocardiography was suboptimal; therefore, transesophageal echocardiography was performed. This revealed a complete lack of any atrial septal tissue (single atrium). The right ventricle was enlarged. Mitral and tricuspid valve attachments to the interventricular septum were in the same anatomic plane, but a cleft mitral valve was not present.

The patient was referred for surgery, and a pericardial patch was used successfully to create an interatrial septum.

View larger version (186K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. Top, Diastolic image. ATRIUM indicates single atrium; RV, right ventricle; and LV, left ventricle. Bottom, Systolic image. A indicates single atrium. Left, Diastolic image. ATRIUM indicates single atrium; RV, right ventricle; and LV, left ventricle. Right, Systolic image. A indicates single atrium.

	Footnotes

 
The editor of Images in Cardiovascular Medicine is Hugh A. McAllister, Jr, MD, Chief, Department of Pathology, St Luke's Episcopal Hospital and Texas Heart Institute, and Clinical Professor of Pathology, University of Texas Medical School and Baylor College of Medicine.

Circulation encourages readers to submit cardiovascular images to Dr Hugh A. McAllister, Jr, St Luke's Episcopal Hospital and Texas Heart Institute, 6720 Bertner, MC 4-265, Houston, TX 77030.