©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 16, 2015; 3(9): 838-842
Published online Sep 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i9.838
Published online Sep 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i9.838
Horseshoe thrombus in a patient with mechanical prosthetic mitral valve: A case report and review of literature
Sanjay Mehra, Assad Movahed, Carlos Espinoza, Constantin B Marcu, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States
Author contributions: Mehra S and Marcu CB designed the research and identified the case reported; Mehra S and Espinoza C performed review of literature; Mehra S prepared manuscript; Movahed A and Marcu CB revised manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The Authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Correspondence to: Assad Movahed, MD, FACC, FACP, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, East Carolina University, 115 Heart Drive, Greenville, NC 27834, United States. movaheda@ecu.edu
Telephone: +1-252-7444400
Received: March 23, 2015
Peer-review started: March 25, 2015
First decision: April 10, 2015
Revised: April 21, 2015
Accepted: June 4, 2015
Article in press: June 8, 2015
Published online: September 16, 2015
Processing time: 176 Days and 9.5 Hours
Peer-review started: March 25, 2015
First decision: April 10, 2015
Revised: April 21, 2015
Accepted: June 4, 2015
Article in press: June 8, 2015
Published online: September 16, 2015
Processing time: 176 Days and 9.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Patients with mechanical prosthetic cardiac valves require life long systemic anticoagulation. Maintaining therapeutic anticoagulation consistently is challenging, given the variable dose requirements with warfarin, especially with dietary changes and drug interactions. We present a case of a patient with fluctuating control of anticoagulation, which led to an unusually large horseshoe thrombus in her left atrium and subsequent cerebrovascular complications. We also provide a review of literature, diagnostic modalities and treatment options.