Diagnosis of pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta by pulsed Doppler cross sectional echocardiography.

Pseudoaneurysms of the ascending aorta are relatively uncommon compared with those evolving from the left ventricle. In a young man with endocarditis of the aortic valve who developed a pseudoaneurysm arising from the ascending aorta, the diagnosis was established with the pulsed Doppler technique and cross sectional echocardiography by passing the Doppler sample from the aorta through the neck of the false aneurysm into the large pseudoaneurysm. Aortic root angiography showed this connexion to be a small fistula between the aorta and right atrium. Necropsy findings confirmed the diagnosis.