Relationship between echocardiographic determinants of left atrial spontaneous echo contrast and thrombus formation in patients with rheumatic mitralvalve disease

Spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) may be detected by ultrasonography in, envi ronments favoring blood stasis. It is mo-st commonly seen. through the use of transesophageal echocardiography in the left atrium of patients with rhe umatic mitral valve disease especially in the presence of atrial fibrillati on. We studied the predictors of SEC, such as cardiac rhythm, Left atrium a nd left atrial appendage functions, and mitral and pulmonary vein flow para meters, in patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease. The relationship b etween these parameters and the severity of SEC and appearance of thrombus was evaluated.