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. 2011 Nov;12(4):567-70.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.2011.4.2263.

Cardiac arrest from postpartum spontaneous coronary artery dissection

Malford T Pillow  1 , Ngoc Anh Nguyen, Dick Kuo
Affiliations

Cardiac arrest from postpartum spontaneous coronary artery dissection

Malford T Pillow et al. West J Emerg Med. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

We present the case of a 32-year-old woman who presented to the emergency department with a witnessed cardiac arrest. She was otherwise healthy with no cardiac risk factors and had undergone an uneventful repeated cesarean section 3 days priorly. The patient underwent defibrillation, out of ventricular fibrillation to a perfusing sinus rhythm, and was taken to the catheterization laboratory where coronary angiography findings showed spontaneous dissection of the left anterior descending artery. The patient received a total of 6 stents during her hospital stay and was eventually discharged in good condition. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare entity with a predilection for pregnant or postpartum women. Early diagnosis and treatment are key for survival, and when identified early, mortality rate is reduced.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources, and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none.

Figures

Figure
Figure
The 12-lead electrocardiogram showing extensive septal-anterior-lateral ST-elevation myocardial infarction.
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