Detection of right atrial mass by echocardiography in pulmonary thromboembolism.

An echodense mass in the right atrium was detected incidentally by two-dimensional echocardiography (ECHO) in a patient with clinical suggestions of cardiogenic shock. Autopsy revealed a cylindrical thrombus extending from the right atrium through a patent foramen ovale, and bilateral massive pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Pulmonary thromboembolism should be one of the differential diagnoses in patients with an echodense mass in the right heart.