Incidental finding of a pulmonary embolus by intracardiac echocardiography during an atrial fibrillation ablation procedure.

A 71-year-old female patient was referred for catheter ablation of drug-refractory, symptomatic atrial fibrillation. Initial intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) incidentally showed a mobile embolus stuck at a bifurcation of the right pulmonary artery. The procedure was suspended and the finding was subsequently confirmed by computed tomography pulmonary angiography. This case illustrates a potential value of real-time imaging by ICE during invasive procedures.