Giant Left Atrium in Triple Rheumatic Heart Disease

Abstract

The giant left atrium (GLA) is a rare condition, commonly associated with rheumatic mitral valve disease, and very rarely with non rheumatic heart disease (nRHD). The triple valvular heart disease with involved mitral, aortic and tricuspid valves is quite uncommon. A 47 year female patient with a past medical history of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and known severe mitral stenosis was with severe breathlessness (NYHA class IV). She had undergone mitral valve commissurotomy and tricuspid valve annuloplasty 12 years previously.  Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a giant left atrium, moderate to severe mitral valve restenosis, severe mitral regurgitation, moderate aortic regurgitation and severe tricuspid regurgitation, associated with severe secondary pulmonary hypertension and a markedly dilated right heart chambers. The patient was considered inoperable by the heart team, because of advanced pulmonary hypertension predicting a very high risk for open heart surgery. The final treatment decision was a difficult and complex issue.