A cardiac thrombus is a blood clot that develops within one of the chambers of the heart, most commonly the left atrium in patients with atrial fibrillation or the left ventricle in patients who have had a heart attack. On echocardiography, a thrombus typically appears as an echogenic mass attached to the heart wall, often in an area of abnormal or sluggish blood flow. Detecting cardiac thrombi is critically important because a piece of the clot can break off and travel through the bloodstream to the brain, causing a stroke, or to other organs, causing damage. Transesophageal echocardiography is more sensitive than transthoracic echocardiography for detecting thrombi, particularly those in the left atrial appendage.
Sonography Term