Transesophageal echocardiographic examination results of our patients with interatrial septal aneurysm

Interatrial septal aneurysm (IASA), has been diagnosed more frequently with the advanced echocardiographic methods. In this study, we examined the echocardiographic features of the patients diagnosed to have IASA by transesophageal echocardiography. The study included consecutive 100 patients with the diagnosis of IASA by transesophageal echocardiography. The types of IASA were categorized according to the Olivares-Reyes classification. The accompanying disorders were recorded. For the diagnosis of IASA, it was necessary to find that the atrial septum was bulging rightward or leftward or both more than 10 mm and the minimal diameter is minimally 15 mm. The comparisons were made by Kruskal-Wallis or Chi-square test. During the study period, echocardiography was performed on 12231 patients. Of the 100 patients suspected for IASA by transthoracic echocardiography, the diagnosis was confirmed transesophageally in 92 (0.75%). The frequency of the types of IASA were type 1R (69%), type 3RL (18%), type 5 (5%), type 2L (4%) and type 4LR (4%), respectively. Among the accompanying disorders, the most frequent one was atrial septal defect with 34 cases. The atrial septal defect was most frequently associated with type 1R (p=0.015). There were no significant differences among the types with regard to patent foramen ovale (p=0.534). In conclusion, the IASA rate was in consistent with the literature findings, but the types were not. We think that the results can be leading for the Turkish people.