The man with his heart "playing" in his chest

A motorbike accident in Italy caused a man’s heart to rotate inside his body and migrate to the right side of his chest. It was a very serious injury, but the patient was lucky to survive.

X-rays and CT scans revealed that the patient's heart had rotated 90 degrees from the left to the right side of the chest. Photo: The New England Journal of Medicine

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors at the emergency department of a hospital near the accident site admitted the 48-year-old man. They discovered that his heart was in an unusual position when they tried to listen to his heartbeat and sound.

The patient's chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) results revealed that his heart had rotated 90 degrees to the right.

“This is an incredibly interesting anatomical finding. I have never seen anything so unusual,” said Dr. Gregory Fontana, head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Lenox Hill University (USA), who was not involved in the treatment of the above male patient.

Dr. Fontana added that he was amazed that the man had survived such a severe injury. The expert explained that what was unusual and unique about the case was that the heart had rotated so far to the other side while the patient was conscious.

At first, it seemed logical for some experts to assume that the man's heart had rotated on its own because his body had been twisted so violently in the accident. However, Dr. Fontana said the heart's rotation could have actually been going on for minutes, or even hours, after the accident.

Doctors discovered that the damage to the man's chest at the time of the accident had caused air to leak from his lungs and collect in his chest cavity. Most likely, this accumulation of air pushed his heart, causing it to move to the right.

After removing all the air leaking from the chest cavity, the patient's heart rotated to the left. And about 24 hours later, it returned to its original, normal position on the left side of his chest.

In addition to the punctured lung, the man also suffered broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. Although the heart itself was not damaged, the abnormal displacement blocked blood vessels and lowered his blood pressure.

Although rare, someone's heart can be found on the right side of the chest, such as in people with congenital defects or in patients who have had their right lung removed during cancer treatment, creating space for the heart to move into, according to Dr. Fontana.

“The structures at the back of the heart and the major arteries are fixed to the spine and tissues, but the heart appears to float in the membrane sac that surrounds it. It is possible that some fluidity, laxity, or damage to the membrane sac that surrounds the heart would allow the mobile portion to rotate around the fixed parts and move to the other side of the chest cavity,” Fontana added.

According to vietnamnet