Notice how the thrombus (a fairly large blood clot) detaches from the ventricular wall and travels through the cardiac chamber circulation and the valve.
An embolus is what this thrombus becomes once it’s detached and is free to travel.
The unattached mass travels through the bloodstream and is capable of clogging arterial capillary beds (create an arterial occlusion) at a site distant from its point of origin. There are a number of different types of emboli, including blood clots, cholesterol plaque or crystals, fat globules, gas bubbles, and foreign bodies.
The Transthoracic echocardiography shown above is the gold standard in visualizing cardiac chambers and especially seeing thrombi.
The risk of intracardiac thrombus formation and subsequent embolism are associated with a number of cardiac conditions including acute myocardial infarction, chronic left ventricular aneurysm, dilated cardiomyopathy, infective endocarditis and atrial fibrillation.
The biggest risk from cardiac thrombus is distal embolization, resulting in stroke, visceral infarction or distal limb ischemia.
Treatment is anticoagulation. Surgical thrombectomy is only indicated in low risk patients with recurrent emboli despite anticoagulation.
Credits to Sissy D. Johns
