Aorto-right atrial fistula: Late complication of tricuspid valve infective endocarditis

Abnormal connections between the ascending aortaand the cardiac chambers are rare, especially in thecontext of right-sided infective endocarditis(IE). Trans-thoracic echocardiography(TTE) with color-flow Dop-pler, transesophageal echocardiography(TEE), or bothmay be required for diagnosis. We present the case ofa woman admitted with right-sided heart failure(HF)symptoms. She had a previous history of tricuspid valveIE 30 years ago. TTE and TEE revealed an aorto-rightatrium fistula located just under the non-coronary cuspinto the right atrium at the level of the previously af-fected tricuspid valve. The Patient refused surgery andwas discharged home on HF medications. She has beenstable for the last 3 years. The peculiarity of this caseis the late symptomatic presentation of the aorto-atrialfistula and the unusual association to tricuspid valve IE.