Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of atrial thrombi in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing different anticoagulation regimens before cardioversion; to evaluate the usefulness of transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) guided cardioversion to prevent thromboembolic complications; and to correlate the presence of atrial thrombi with clinical and echocardiographic data. Methods: 757 consecutive patients admitted as candidates for cardioversion of atrial fibrillation were enrolled in the study. They were divided into four groups: effective conventional oral anticoagulation, short term anticoagulation, ineffective oral anticoagulation or subtherapeutic anticoagulation, and effective oral anticoagulation with a duration of < 3 weeks for various clinical reasons. All patients underwent TOE before cardioversion; in the presence of atrial thrombi or extreme left atrial echo contrast, cardioversion was postponed. The incidence of thromboembolic events was evaluated after cardioversion. Results: Atrial thrombi were detected in 48 of the 757 (6.3%) patients. No significant differences in the percentage of atrial thrombosis were found in the four study groups. Patients with atrial thrombosis were older and had a higher percentage of mitral prosthetic valves, lower left ventricular ejection fraction, more severe atrial spontaneous echo contrast, and lower Doppler left atrial appendage velocities. 648 patients were scheduled for cardioversion. Cardioversion was successful in 89% of patients without any major thromboembolic event. Conclusions: The prevalence of atrial thrombosis before cardioversion despite different treatments with anticoagulants is about 7% and a TOE guided approach may prevent the risk of embolic events.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)-guided cardioversion has been demonstrated to be well tolerated in patients with atrial fibrillation. Guidelines do not suggest whether patients with severe spontaneous echocontrast (SEC) and sludge can be safely submitted to cardioversion. In our observational study, we analyzed the prevalence of SEC in patients with atrial fibrillation taking different anticoagulant therapies, the incidence of embolic complications after cardioversion in patients with severe SEC or sludge and the usefulness of TEE in reducing embolic complications in these patients. The study population consisted of 1104 patients with atrial fibrillation, candidates for cardioversion and submitted to TEE. They were divided into four groups: effective conventional oral anticoagulation, short-term anticoagulation, subtherapeutic anticoagulation and effective oral anticoagulation for less than 3 weeks for different clinical reasons. Cardioversion was postponed in patients with atrial thrombosis; in the presence of severe SEC, the decision to cardiovert was left to the treating physician. Atrial thrombosis was detected in 65 (5.9%) patients, and SEC was detected in the majority of patients independent of the anticoagulant scheme; in 131 patients, it was severe and, in this group, sludge was identified in 57 patients. Cardioversion was performed in 922 patients and was successful in 849 (including 22 patients with severe SEC and four with sludge) with one minor embolic event. SEC and sludge are frequently observed in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing cardioversion. A TEE approach may prevent the risk of embolic events. In the presence of severe SEC and sludge, treating physicians frequently postpone cardioversion, even though in the patients submitted to cardioversion, no events were observed.

Background: Percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) requires accurate pre- and intraprocedural measurements, and multimodality imaging is an essential tool for guiding the procedure. Two-dimensional (2D TOE) and three-dimensional (3D TOE) transoesophageal echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography (CCT), and conventional cardiac angiography (CCA) are commonly used to evaluate left atrial appendage (LAA) size. However, standardized approaches in measurement methods by different imaging modalities are lacking. The aims of the study were to evaluate the LAA dimension and morphology in patients undergoing LAAC and to compare data obtained by different imaging modalities: 2D and 3D TOE, CCT, and CCA. Methods: A total of 200 patients (mean age 70 ± 8 years, 128 males) were examined by different imaging techniques (161 2D TOE, 103 3D TOE, 98 CCT, and 200 CCA). Patients underwent preoperative CCT and intraoperative 2D and 3D TOE and CCA. Results: A significant correlation was found among all measurements obtained by different modalities. In particular, 3D TOE and CCT measurements were highly correlated with an excellent agreement for the landing zone (LZ) dimensions (LZ diameter: r = 0.87; LAA depth: r = 0.91, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Head-to-head comparison among imaging techniques (2D and 3D TOE, CCT, and CCA) showed a good correlation among LZ diameter measurements obtained by different imaging modalities, which is a parameter of paramount importance for the choice of the LAAC device size. LZ diameters and area by 3D TOE had the best correlation with CCT.

MitraClip (MC) is the most common percutaneous treatment for severe mitral regurgitation (MR). An accurate two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiographic (3DTEE) imaging is mandatory for the optimal procedural result. Recently transillumination 3DTEE rendering (3DTr) has been introduced integrating a virtual light source into the dataset and with the addition of glass effect (3DGl) allows to adjust tissue transparency improving depth perception and anatomical structure delineation in comparison with the standard 3DTEE (3DSt). The aim of this retrospective study in 30 patients undergoing MC, was to compare 3DSt, 3DTr, and 3DGl in mitral valve (MV) evaluation and procedural result assessment. 3DTEE acquisitions obtained before and after MC were processed with 3DSt, 3DTr, and 3DGl rendering. Each reconstruction was scored for quality and for ability to recognize MV anatomy, MR origin, clip position, dimension and grasping. Imaging quality was judged good or optimal in 52%, 76%, and 96% in 3DSt, 3DTr, and 3DGl reconstructions respectively. In 26/30 patients a diagnostic incremental value was found with 3DTr vs. 3DSt and in 15/26 with 3DGl vs. 3DTr and 3DSt. Only 3DGl with perpendicular cropping of the clip allowed to visualize and measure the grasped portion of each mitral leaflets. 3DTEE imaging during MC may be improved by 3DTr and 3DGl providing a better evaluation of MV, of leaflet grasping and of residual MR jets after MC.