Lipomatous Hypertrophy of the Interatrial Septum in a Patient with Chronic Dyspnea and Episodes of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: A Case Report

Lipomatous Hypertrophy of the Interatrial Septum (LHIS) is an unusual condition usually found as an incidental finding on echocardiography. It can create a mass-like bulge typically sparing the fossa ovalis. We describe a 73-year-old overweight Cypriot woman, who visited our clinic in November 2018 and was complaining of dyspnea on exertion, chest tightness, and two episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation for the last eight months. A big sessile mass was detected in the interatrial septum measuring 3.7×4.7 cm during transoesophageal echocardiography. The patient underwent resection of the mass and pericardial patch reconstruction of the defect with significant improvement of her clinical status during the follow-up period. The histopathological analysis suggested LHIS. In patients with persistent cardiac symptoms, a prompt resection is a useful option, although surgery is generally considered unnecessary in this clinical setting. Preprint of this article is available on: https://www.authorea.com/users/380290/articles/496351-a-patient-with-chronic-dyspnea-and-episodes-of-paroxysmal-atrial-fibrillation-in-the-presence-of-a-right-atrial-mass.