Long-term follow-up of aortic intramural hematoma: predictors of outcome.

BACKGROUND: Aortic intramural hematoma (IMH) evolves very dynamically in the short-term to regression, dissection, or aortic rupture. The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term clinical and morphological evolution of medically treated IMH. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty of 68 consecutive patients with aortic IMH monitored clinically and by imaging techniques at 3, 6, and 12 months and annually thereafter were prospectively studied. Mean follow-up was 45+/-31 months. In the first 6 months, total IMH regression was observed in 14 and progression to aortic dissection in 18 patients; in 14 of these, the dissection was localized, and 12 later developed pseudoaneurysm. At the end of follow-up, the IMH had regressed completely without dilatation in 17 patients (34%), progressed to classical dissection in 6 (12%), evolved to fusiform aneurysm in 11 (22%), evolved to saccular aneurysm in 4 (8%), and evolved to pseudoaneurysm in 12 (24%). Evolution to dissection was related to echolucency (P<0.02) and to longitudinal extension of IMH (P<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed an independent association between regression and smaller maximum aortic diameter and between aneurysm formation and atherosclerotic ulcerated plaque and absence of echolucent areas in IMH. CONCLUSIONS: The most frequent long-term evolution of IMH is to aortic aneurysm or pseudoaneurysm. Complete regression without changes in aorta size is observed in one third of cases, and progression to classical dissection is less common. A normal aortic diameter in the acute phase is the best predictor of IMH regression without complications, and absence of echolucent areas and atherosclerotic ulcerated plaque are associated with evolution to aortic aneurysm.

[Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis of the aortic valve in a young woman]. / Endocarditis trombótica no bacteriana sobre válvula aórtica en mujer joven.

A 40-year-old woman without heart disease suffered two embolic episodes in both legs due to a thrombus of the aortic valve. Transesophageal echocardiography performed after the first episode was considered normal, but a second study performed after the second embolism demonstrated a thrombus in the non-coronary leaflet that failed to resolve with the intravenous administration of heparin for two weeks. Surgical excision of the mass revealed a thrombus on an otherwise healthy aortic valve. The case is interesting because it is an exceptional cause of systemic embolism and the patient did not present a prothrombotic status in coagulation studies. The 3 years of follow-up was uneventful.

Transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of acute aortic syndrome.

In recent years, technological advances in echocardiography have led to improvements in the diagnosis of acute aortic disease. With transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and, particularly, bi- and multiplane probes, the physiopathologic understanding of these diseases has widened. Thus, new entities such as penetrating ulcer and intramural hematoma have been described and differentiated from classical aortic dissection.