European Journal of Echocardiography Advance Access originally published online on January 5, 2009
European Journal of Echocardiography 2009 10(3):450-451; doi:10.1093/ejechocard/jen329
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A case report of thoracic aneurysm with aortopulmonary artery fistula
1 Department of Cardiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
2 Department of Cardiology, Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
Received 9 October 2008; accepted after revision 7 December 2008; online publish-ahead-of-print 5 January 2009.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +1 409 772 1533; fax: +1 409 772 4982. E-mail address: samodi{at}utmb.edu
| Abstract |
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Rupture of an aortic aneurysm into the pulmonary artery is a rare and often a fatal event. This complication results in the development of an acute left to right shunt, volume overload, and rapid right heart deterioration. We describe a case of thoracic aortic aneurysm in whom the diagnosis of a communication with the pulmonary artery was made on the basis of transthoracic echocardiography.
Keywords: Aortic aneurysm; Aortopulmonary artery fistula; Echocardiography