Aneurysm vs. Pseudoaneurysm of the Left Ventricle

We will present a case of a 72 year old woman with a recent history of late arrival MI complicated by Dressler’s syndrome, admitted with recurrent CHF.

On echo, an expanding inferior wall aneurysm vs pseudoaneurysm was seen.

Since the distinction between a pseudoaneurysm and a true aneurysm was crucial for further management decisions, the patient was referred for cardiac CT and MRI in an attempt to better characterize the pathology and reach a more definite diagnosis.

We will present findings from cardiac CT (including spectral CT) and cardiac MRI and a brief literature review regrading imaging characteristics of left ventricular aneurysms vs. pseudoaneurysms.

Although most of these characteristics are demonstrated in our case, we will show how diagnostic difficulty may remain.

In conclusion we will present the patient’s final diagnosis, management and outcome.