An unusual echocardiographic presentation of left atrial dissection following cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation

Abstract Left atrial dissection (LatD) is a relatively rare perioperative complication during mitral valve repair. Here, we report a 64-year-old man who developed LatD after cardiopulmonary resuscitation was needed due to an extensive myocardial infarction. Aggressive cardiac massage resulted in cardiac rupture and massive bloody pleura effusion. Intraoperative three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography revealed posterior-medial papillary muscle ruptured and separation of the endocardium from the left atrial myocardium. We speculate that this is the first report in the literature of LatD after cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation.