Citation

Jensen S, Kristensen IB, Kristensen BO. Int. J. Legal Med. 1992; 105(2): 121-122.

Affiliation

Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1520636

Abstract

Post-traumatic myocardial infarction is a well-known although rare complication of blunt chest traumas. In cases of proximally located damage to the coronary arteries, modern vascular surgery such as bypass operations may be lifesaving. In this paper we describe a case, where a healthy 35-year-old man developed a lethal myocardial infarction 8 days after a chest trauma caused by a moped. The ECG obtained 4 h after the accident showed extensive transmural ischemia of the anterior wall. At autopsy a hematoma originating from a side branch was found to compress the left anterior descending coronary artery immediately distal to its origin from the main stem. This finding suggests that bypass surgery could have saved the life of this young man. Patients with evidence of myocardial ischemia following chest traumas should be transferred to a cardiac center as early as possible.

Language: en