Case Report
Ruptured Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm into the Left
Atrium with Multiple Fistulous Communications:
A Rare Cause of Heart Failure
Yashwant Agrawal,
1
Rakshita Chandrashekhar,
1
Jerry W. Pratt,
2
Maria D. Cole,
2
Sreenivas Kamath,
2
and Jagadeesh K. Kalavakunta
2
1
Department of Internal Medicine/Pediatrics and Department of Internal Medicine,
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49048, USA
2
Department of Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo, MI 49048, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Yashwant Agrawal; yashwantagrawal.agrawal@gmail.com
Received 18 September 2015; Revised 12 December 2015; Accepted 16 December 2015
Academic Editor: Man-Hong Jim
Copyright © 2015 Yashwant Agrawal et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Ruptured noncoronary sinus of valsalva aneurysm with istulous connections to multiple cardiac chambers has not been
reported previously. We report a 66-year-old man who presented with worsening cough and exertional dyspnea. Transesophageal
echocardiogram conirmed a large aneurysm involving the noncoronary cusp of the aortic sinus with aneurysmal extension to the
let atrium. here were also two istulous communications with the letatrium and one small istulous connection with the right
atrium. Open-heart surgery with aortic root replacement and reimplantation of coronary arteries along with primary closure and
repair of aorta to the letatrial istula was performed.
1. Introduction
hough ruptured sinus of valsalva aneurysm is a rare entity
when it occurs, emergent surgical intervention should be the
treatment of choice as patients can deteriorate rapidly and
if required prophylactic repair of other structures such as
impending aneurysm should be performed, as in our case, to
prevent future catastrophes.
2. Case History
A 66-year-old man presented to the emergency room with
worsening cough, exertional dyspnea, and orthopnea for 3
weeks. Physical examination was remarkable for a grade
III/VI continuous murmur at the second right upper ster-
nal border. Initial lab values were remarkable for troponin
0.1 ng/mL (normal, 0–0.16 ng/mL) and brain natriuretic pep-
tide 761 ng/mL (normal, 0–450 ng/L). He was placed on
intravenous furosemide, which improved his symptoms. A
transthoracic echocardiogram showed marked dilatation of
sinuses of valsalva and an aneurysm, which seemed to have
ruptured into the letatrium (LA). For better assessment,
a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) was performed
which showed large aneurysm involving the noncoronary
cusp of the aortic sinus of valsalva extending into LA
(Figure 1). he gradient across the communication was
65 mmHg. Two istulous connections with LA were also
appreciated along with a small istulous connection with right
atrium. he aortic valve was eufunctional without any steno-
sis or regurgitation on TEE. Two days later, he developed
acute dyspnea and went into cardiogenic shock. His vitals
were signiicant for blood pressure of 80/46 mmHg, heart rate
128 bpm, and respiratory rate 30/minute with saturation of
78%. His lab values were remarkable for creatinine increasing
to 2.8 mg/dL from 1.3 mg/dL (normal, 0.6–1.2 mg/dL) and
brain natriuretic peptide 1500 ng/mL from 764 ng/mL. He
underwent emergent sinus of valsalva aneurysm (SVA) repair
and aortic root replacement with 25 mm freestyle aortic root.
During the procedure, a large SVA of the noncoronary sinus
was noted, herniating into the LA. At the end of the windsock,
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Cardiology
Volume 2015, Article ID 627946, 3 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/627946