Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009;36(6):611-4.

Isolated right superior vena cava drainage into the left atrium diagnosed noninvasively in the peripartum period

Charles Baggett  1 , Shawn J Skeen, D Scott Gantt, Bradley R Trotter, Krista L Birkemeier
Affiliations
Review

Isolated right superior vena cava drainage into the left atrium diagnosed noninvasively in the peripartum period

Charles Baggett et al. Tex Heart Inst J. 2009.

Abstract

Isolated right superior vena cava drainage into the left atrium is an extremely rare cardiac anomaly, especially in the absence of other cardiac abnormalities. Only 28 of 5,127 reported consecutive congenital cardiac cases involved superior vena cava drainage into the left atrium, and all were associated with other cardiac anomalies. Of 19 reported cases of right superior vena cava drainage into the left atrium, most patients have been children who were experiencing mild hypoxemia and cyanosis. Herein, we describe the case of a 34-year-old woman who presented with asymptomatic hypoxemia in the peripartum period. She was diagnosed to have isolated drainage of the right superior vena cava into the left atrium. To the best of our knowledge, this is the 1st reported instance of such diagnosis by use of noninvasive imaging only, without cardiac catheterization. We also review the medical literature that pertains to our patient's anomaly.

Keywords: Anoxia/etiology; blood circulation; heart atria/abnormalities; heart defects, congenital/complications/diagnosis/pathology; magnetic resonance imaging; oxygen/blood; peripartum period; technetium/diagnostic use; vena cava, superior/abnormalities/radiography.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Fig. 1. Images from a ventilation–perfusion scan that was performed after technetium 99m macroaggregates were injected intravenously into the right upper extremity. Radiotracer activity within the lungs (black arrows) is due to distribution through the bronchial arteries. Systemic activity is most evident in highly vascular structures, including the thyroid gland (black arrowheads), spleen (white arrowheads), kidneys (white arrows), salivary glands (white bar-tailed arrow), and breast tissue (black bar-tailed arrows). LAO = left anterior oblique; LPO = left posterior oblique; LT LAT = left lateral; RAO = right anterior oblique; RPO = right posterior oblique; RT LAT = right lateral
None
Fig. 2. Steady-state, free-precession, paracoronal magnetic resonance image shows the superior vena cava (large arrow) and the left superior pulmonary vein (small arrow) emptying into the left atrium (asterisk). The inferior vena cava empties separately into the right atrium.
None
Fig. 3. Steady-state, free-precession, contrast-enhanced, coronal magnetic resonance image (maximum-intensity projection) shows contrast material in the superior vena cava (arrowhead), left heart (asterisk), and proximal aorta (arrow), without opacification of the right heart or the pulmonary vasculature.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. de Leval MR, Ritter DG, McGoon DC, Danielson GK. Anomalous systemic venous connection. Surgical considerations. Mayo Clin Proc 1975;50(10):599–610. - PubMed
    1. Buirski G, Jordan SC, Joffe HS, Wilde P. Superior vena caval abnormalities: their occurrence rate, associated cardiac abnormalities and angiographic classification in a paediatric population with congenital heart disease. Clin Radiol 1986; 37(2):131–8. - PubMed
    1. Park HM, Smith ET, Silberstein EB. Isolated right superior vena cava draining into left atrium diagnosed by radionuclide angiocardiography. J Nucl Med 1973;14(4):240–2. - PubMed
    1. Ezekowitz MD, Alderson PO, Bulkley BH, Dwyer PN, Watkins L, Lappe DL, et al. Isolated drainage of the superior vena cava into the left atrium in a 52-year-old man: a rare congenital malformation in the adult presenting with cyanosis, polycythemia, and an unsuccessful lung scan. Circulation 1978; 58(4):751–6. - PubMed
    1. Park HM, Summerer MH, Preuss K, Armstrong WF, Mahomed Y, Hamilton DJ. Anomalous drainage of the right superior vena cava into the left atrium. J Am Coll Cardiol 1983; 2(2):358–62. - PubMed