Conservative Management of Left Atrial Dissection and Associated Complete Heart Block Following Cardiac Surgery | JACC: Case Reports | ACC.25

Andrea Scotti, MD, JACC: Case Reports Deputy Editor, is joined by authors Richard Carrick, MD, PhD and Drew Bidmead, BS discussing this study from Carrick et al presented at ACC.25 and published in JACC: Case Reports. Left atrial dissection is a rare, but potentially serious, complication that most commonly arises following mitral valve surgeries. In this report, we describe an unusual case of left atrial dissection that occurred after multi-valve surgical replacement in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. While permanent pacemaker placement was required due to recurrent episodes of complete heart block, the patient was otherwise managed safely using a conservative approach without surgical re-intervention.