11/44. Spontaneous dissecting aneurysm of the coronary artery. A rare cause of myocardial infarction and sudden death.Spontaneous dissecting aneurysm of the coronary artery (SDACA) not associated with aortic aneurysm or trauma is a very rare cause of myocardial ischemia. It has a higher prevalence in otherwise healthy women, especially in the peri- and postpartum period. In 80-90% of cases the diagnosis of SDACA is confirmed at autopsy, as the majority of patients present with acute myocardial infarction or sudden death. We describe the case of a 47-year-old Caucasian woman who died suddenly without any previous sign of cardiac disease. She had no clinical signs of Marfan's syndrome or arterial hypertension, she used no oral contraceptives and she was not in the peri- or postpartum period. At autopsy we found a recent dissecting aneurysm of the right coronary artery. histology showed a hematoma between the media and adventitia of the coronary artery, flattening and occluding the lumen. Acute myocardial infarction was present in the posterior wall of the left cardiac ventricle. SDACA is an unpredictable condition and prompt diagnosis and life-saving procedures--either surgical or conservative--are rarely successful. We report a very rare disease documented in only 108 cases according to the English-language literature accessible to us.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
12/44. Electrical storm: case series and review of management.Electrical storm is defined as a recurrent episode of hemodynamically destabilizing ventricular tachyarrhythmia that usually requires electrical cardioversion or defibrillation. We describe three cases presenting with electrical storm under differing circumstances: (1) a 57-year-old man with ST-elevation myocardial infarction within 1 week of a posterior circulation stroke who developed refractory sustained ventricular tachycardia 10 days after an acute myocardial infarction; (2) a 65-year-old man who developed polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation following dobutamine echocardiography; and (3) a 20-year-old woman who developed intractable ventricular fibrillation following an overdose of a weight-reduction pill. The management of electrical storm is discussed, and evolving literature supporting the routine use of intravenous amiodarone and beta-blockers in place of intravenous lidocaine is critically examined.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
13/44. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death in young Koreans.The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and clinical characteristics of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in young victims of sudden cardiac death (SCD). From January 1999 to December 2000, postmortem studies were conducted in 38 cases of SCD (age < or =35 (27 /-7) years old, 26 male) from the Taegu-Kyungpook region of southeastern korea. Cases of sudden infant death syndrome were excluded. The causes of SCD were ARVC in 42%, acute myocardial infarction in 11%, myocarditis in 11%, pulmonary embolism in 8%, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 5%, aortic rupture in 3%, aortic stenosis in 3%, and unknown in 18%. The mean age of the 16 ARVC victims was 27 /-5 years and 10 were male. None were competitive athletes, or had been suspected of having cardiovascular disease before death. SCD was not related to vigorous physical or competitive activity and occurred during sleep in 7 cases, during work in 4, during bathing in 2, while driving, praying and eating in 1 case each. ARVC is an important cause of SCD in young people in this area of korea.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
14/44. Acute myocardial infarction as a cause of death in palliated hypoplastic left heart syndrome.A 20 month old child with hypoplastic left heart syndrome died suddenly from a massive myocardial infarction 15 months after a hemi-Fontan operation. This was confirmed at postmortem examination and histological examinations. The sites of surgical reconstruction were all in good condition, there were no gross anatomical coronary abnormalities, and the coronary ostia were unobstructed. On microscopy the internal coronary arteries had notable intimal and medial thickening with narrowing of the lumen, although no thrombotic occlusion was seen. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published report of arteriosclerosis of the coronary arteries in hypoplastic left heart syndrome. It raises the question as to whether there may be a primary histological abnormality in some children with this condition or whether some mechanism of accelerated arteriosclerosis is at work.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
15/44. Death from spontaneous coronary artery dissection in a healthy postmenopausal woman.Spontaneous dissection of the coronary arteries, in the absence of trauma, is an unusual but well-documented entity that occurs usually in middle-aged women. It is a rare cause of sudden death and myocardial infarction. Coronary eosinophilic arteritis is suggested to result in a predisposition to intimal disruption and dissection. We present the case of the sudden death of a previous healthy, 53-year-old postmenopausal female, while working, in a town of Thessalia in greece. The cause of death was left anterior descending coronary dissection with histologic findings of eosinophilic arteritis and autoimmune thyroiditis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
16/44. Hypoplastic coronary artery disease: report of one case.Hypoplastic coronary artery disease (HCAD) is a rare abnormality with a high rate of sudden death and poor outcome. HCAD was revealed by myocardial infarction in a teenager with objective evidence of silent ischaemia on myocardial scintigraphy. After four years of follow up, he suddenly collapsed during exercise and subsequently died. Although HCAD is very uncommon, it should be actively excluded in children and young adults who experience sudden cardiac death. Aggressive treatment such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillator or heart transplantation may be indicated for this rare coronary abnormality.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
17/44. Sudden death of a diabetic patient during Holter monitoring.The sudden death of a diabetic patient (NIDDM) during Holter monitoring is described. The patient was a 64-yr-old male with an 11-yr history of diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, autonomic nervous dysfunction, and old myocardial infarction. In spite of all these complications, he remained asymptomatic and eventually resumed his normal activities, including a daily 1-h walk, until his sudden death. The cause of death was considered to be cardiac disease, but was not confirmed by autopsy. A detailed analysis of his Holter monitoring is given.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
18/44. life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias in patients with silent myocardial ischemia due to coronary-artery spasm.BACKGROUND. Silent myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary atherosclerosis is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiac events, including sudden death. The relation between silent ischemia and the initiation of potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias has not been defined, however. methods. As part of a long-term study of sudden cardiac death, data on arrhythmias, coronary anatomy, and responses to ergonovine testing to provoke coronary-artery spasm were collected prospectively among survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who had no flow-limiting coronary-artery lesions, prior myocardial infarctions, or other structural causes of cardiac arrest and no angina pectoris. Associations between silent myocardial ischemia due to coronary-artery spasm and the occurrence and characteristics of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias were studied by both invasive and noninvasive techniques. RESULTS. Silent ischemic events were associated with the initiation of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias in five patients with induced or spontaneous focal coronary-artery spasm (or both). These patients were identified among a group of 356 survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who were evaluated between 1980 and 1991. In two of the five patients reperfusion, rather than ischemia itself, correlated with the onset of the ventricular arrhythmia. Only one of the five had an inducible arrhythmia during electrophysiologic testing. Titration of the dose of a calcium-entry-blocking agent (verapamil, diltiazem, or nifedipine) against the ability of ergonovine to provoke spasm was successful in preventing both the provocation of spasm and arrhythmias in all four patients who were tested. CONCLUSIONS. Silent myocardial ischemia due to coronary-artery spasm can initiate potentially fatal arrhythmias in patients without flow-limiting structural coronary-artery lesions. The role of silent ischemia, reperfusion, or both in the initiation of fatal arrhythmias in larger groups of patients with advanced coronary-artery lesions remains to be defined.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
19/44. Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery with diffuse coronary hypoplasia resulting in sudden death.A case of sudden death is reported in a 13-year-old boy due to an acute myocardial infarction and arrhythmias following exertion. On autopsy, he was found to have an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery, an acute angle of takeoff of the left coronary artery, and diffuse hypoplasia of both the left and right coronary arteries. Both arteries had markedly small lumens throughout their course. This report provides the first description of this combination of congenital coronary artery abnormalities resulting in sudden death.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
20/44. An uncommon coronary artery fistula causing survived sudden cardiac death in a young woman.Although most patients suffering from a coronary artery fistula remain asymptomatic during childhood and adolescence, many of them develop complications in adulthood due to volume overload, endocarditis or ischemia. Here we present a young woman surviving a sudden cardiac death due to myocardial ischemia with subsequent ventricular fibrillation caused by thrombosis of a coronary artery fistula deriving from the left main coronary artery. Parts of the thrombus had been embolized into the circumflex artery causing posterior myocardial infarction. The thrombosis might have been initiated by local compression from a round extracardiac mass of 3 cm with liquid and solid content located between the vena cava superior and the ascending aorta. This structure was suspected to be a hematoma which had been caused by a blunt thoracic trauma while playing soccer 2 weeks before.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = infarction (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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