Underlying cause discovered for a prior idiopathic AMI
Godfrey, Richard O’Hanlon, Rory Wilson, Mathew G. Buckley, John Sharma, Sanjay Whyte, Greg
Godfrey, Richard
O’Hanlon, Rory
Wilson, Mathew G.
Buckley, John
Sharma, Sanjay
Whyte, Greg
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
EPub Date
Publication Date
2011-03-30
Submitted Date
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Abstract
The authors previously reported on an active, young male with normal coronaries who sustained an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The acute cause was a coronary thrombus; however, the cause of this thrombus and a definitive diagnosis remained elusive for 18 months until a new series of events, including symptoms of breathlessness, dizziness and collapse led to acute hospital admission. CT scan revealed numerous deep venous thromboses in the right leg and bilateral pulmonary emboli (PE). Acute pharmacological thrombolysis eliminated breathlessness and significantly reduced the risk of mortality. Clinical consensus suggests a coagulopathy, requiring indefinite treatment with Warfarin. In young individuals presenting with AMI, lifestyle, personal, family and clinical history should be considered and coronary artery disease should not be assumed until further tests have eliminated coagulopathy. In those presenting with breathlessness and a history which includes AMI, a CT scan is indicated to eliminate concerns of venous thromboembolism generally and PE specifically where untreated survival times are short.
Citation
British Medical Journal Case Reports, 30 March 2011, online
Publisher
Journal
British Medical Journal Case Reports
Research Unit
DOI
10.1136/bcr.02.2011.3799
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
This article is not available through ChesterRep.
Series/Report no.
ISSN
1757-790X