Transthoracic visualization of pulmonary thrombus that mimicked left atrial thrombus. A case report.

A forty-five-year-old woman with an unusual case of primary pulmonary hypertension is presented. She showed a progressive dilatation of the pulmonary arteries and pulmonary thrombus over twenty-one years. Transthoracic echocardiography showed the presence of pulmonary arterial thrombus that mimicked left atrial thrombus. However, when the transducer was rotated clockwise to obtain the short-axis view, a thrombus was observed in the right pulmonary artery with spontaneous echo contrast. Although the visualization of pulmonary arterial thrombus by echocardiography has been quite limited, it would be worthwhile since patients with primary pulmonary hypertension may have enlarged pulmonary arteries, as observed in the present case.