Coronary artery stent mimicking intracardiac thrombus on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging due to signal loss: case report

Magn Reson Imaging. 2012 Jul;30(6):889-92. doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2012.02.023. Epub 2012 Apr 9.

Abstract

Since the introduction of percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary artery disease, thousands of patients have been treated with the implantation of coronary stents. Moreover, several of the patients with coronary stent undergo cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging every year. This case report is of a 77-year-old man who was previously treated with the implantation of a coronary stent in the left circumflex artery. He underwent CMR imaging, which revealed a process 14×21 mm in the left atrium. Cardiac contrast computed tomography did not demonstrate any cardiac pathology. While the signal loss on MRI associated with implanted metallic devices is known, we report a case where an implanted coronary stent in the left circumflex artery led to an intracardiac signal loss mimicking intracardiac thrombus/tumor.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Artifacts
  • Coronary Vessels*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Heart Atria
  • Heart Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Male
  • Metals
  • Stents*
  • Thrombosis / diagnosis*

Substances

  • Metals