Syncope Upon Swallowing Caused by an Esophageal Hiatal Hernia Compressing the Left Atrium: A Case Report

We describe a patient with syncope associated with swallowing. This syncope was caused by transient compression of the left atrium (LA) by an esophageal hiatal hernia. Two‐dimensional echocardiography demonstrated a hyperechoic mass compressing the LA from the posterior. With air insufflation of the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2004-01, Vol.21 (1), p.61-64
Main Authors: Oishi, Yoshifumi, Ishimoto, Takeo, Nagase, Norio, Mori, Kenichi, Fujimoto, Sayuri, Hayashi, Shigehito, Ochi, Yoshie, Kobayashi, Kazuo, Tabata, Tomotsugu, Oki, Takashi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Deglutition
Echocardiography, Doppler, Color
esophageal hiatal hernia
Female
Heart Atria - diagnostic imaging
Hernia, Hiatal - complications
Hernia, Hiatal - diagnostic imaging
Humans
left atrium
syncope
Syncope - diagnostic imaging
Syncope - etiology
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We describe a patient with syncope associated with swallowing. This syncope was caused by transient compression of the left atrium (LA) by an esophageal hiatal hernia. Two‐dimensional echocardiography demonstrated a hyperechoic mass compressing the LA from the posterior. With air insufflation of the esophagus, compression of the LA by this hernia sac was seen to increase. Pulsed and color Doppler echocardiography revealed greatly decreased velocity of blood flowing into the LA and left ventricle (LV). Thus, marked compression of the LA by an esophageal hiatal hernia can cause syncope by impeding blood flow from the LA to the LV. Echocardiography proved highly useful in diagnosis. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 21, January 2004)
ISSN:0742-2822
1540-8175
DOI:10.1111/j.0742-2822.2004.03005.x