A heart defect found upon self-examination in an asymptomatic patient

D. Luke Glancy, MD, and Susan E. Staggs, MD

From the Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and the Medical Center of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Corresponding author: D. Luke Glancy, MD, Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1542 Tulane Avenue, Room 441, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112.

A 32-year-old echocardiographic technician was honing her skills by self-examination when she noted that her right ventricle was dilated. A cardiologist confirmed her finding and noted a left-to-right shunt across a 1-cm defect in the fossa ovalis region of the atrial septum. (BUMC Proceedings 2002;15:18)