Successful dissolution of massive left atrial thrombus after the use of warfarin--a case report.

A case of rheumatic heart disease, mitral stenosis, large left atrium, and chronic atrial fibrillation is reported and discussed. This patient was shown, by means of two-dimensional echocardiography, to have a massive left atrial thrombus, and after the initiation of anticoagulation with warfarin, complete resolution of the clot was seen in less than two months. The use of two-dimensional echocardiography was valuable in the follow-up of this patient, and it is suggested that further prospective studies are necessary for better understanding the natural history of left atrial thrombus.