Cardiac arrest from postpartum spontaneous coronary artery dissection

Malford T. Pillow, Ngoc-Anh A. Nguyen, Dick Kuo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)567-570
Number of pages4
JournalWestern Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume12
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2011

Keywords

  • Cardiac arrest
  • Postpartum
  • Spontaneous coronary artery dissection

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Emergency Medicine

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