PMC3350016_01
A 71-year-old woman with known mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation underwent routine preoperative screening for cataract surgery. The chest X-ray showed curvilinear dense calcifications on both the frontal ((a), arrows) and lateral ((b), arrows) views. A follow up noncontrast CT of the chest better localized these calcifications on axial images ((c), (d), white arrows), coronal image (e) and sagittal image (f), as being in the wall of the left atrium. The interatrial septum ((c), black thin arrow) and mitral valve annulus ((d), thin black arrow) were not calcified. The coronal (e) and sagittal (f) images show a pattern of calcification very similar to the one seen on the frontal (a) and lateral (b) chest X-rays. Incidental right pleural effusion and liver cysts were also shown.
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PMC3350016_01_CRIM.RADIOLOGY2011-501396.001.jpg
fig1
Incidental findings on the chest X-ray revealed an unusual pattern of curvilinear cardiac calcification (Figures 1(a) and 1(b)). Subsequently, a noncontrast CT scan of the thorax was obtained for further characterization and anatomical localization (Figures 1(c), 1(d), 1(e), and 1(f)).