Publication Details

AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS

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medicine

ST-T wave changes simulating anterior myocardial infarction during a cerebrovascular accident

Archives des Maladies du Coeur et des Vaisseaux, Volume 90, No. 4, Year 1997

The authors report the case of a woman admitted to hospital for minor trauma of the left hip and who presented major ST segment elevation on the second day suggesting an acute anterior wall myocardial infarction at the same time as a cerebrovascular accident. Complementary investigations and follow-up excluded the diagnosis of myocardial infarction with normalisation of the ECG on the 5th day. ECG changes during cerebrovascular accidents may be very variable ranging from extrasystoles to ST elevation mimicking myocardial infarction. They carry a poor prognosis with an increased risk of sudden death necessitating continuous ECG monitoring until the ECG reverts to normal. The cardiac involvement is not ischaemic but due to disease of the insular cortex of the brain which induces myocytolysis (centered around the intra-cardiac nerve endings) due to the sudden liberation of catecholamines. These lesions may be treated by propranolol or phentolamine.
Statistics
Citations: 8
Authors: 8
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
ISSN: 00039683
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Noncommunicable Diseases
Study Design
Cohort Study
Participants Gender
Female