Painless ischemia provoked by mental stress in the coronary care unit.

Sharkey, S W; Aberg, N B; Trost, L; Shear, W S · Chest · 1995

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

A 30-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest after setting fire to his home. Continuous ST segment electrocardiographic monitoring in the Coronary Care Unit detected painless ST segment depression during an interview with a police officer. At angiography, the patient proved to have severe three-vessel coronary artery disease. This case demonstrates the clinical value of continuous ST segment monitoring in the ICU. In addition, the case illustrates that mental stress is a potential trigger for acute myocardial ischemia in the ICU.

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