Risk of sudden cardiac death in a case of spontaneous coronary artery dissection presenting with thyroid storm.

OBJECTIVE

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a spontaneous separation of the coronary artery wall whose etiology appears to be poorly understood. SCAD is a rare cause of acute coronary syndromes, and it is a life-threatening condition.

CASE REPORT: We report the case of a young woman who developed SCAD during a thyroid storm (TS).

RESULTS

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of SCAD during a TS, and it suggests a possible association between high levels of circulating thyroid hormones and SCAD susceptibility.

CONCLUSIONS

Early identification of SCAD predisposing factors is important to identify high-risk patients. In patients presenting to the emergency department because of chest pain with a history of dysthyroidism, early determination of thyroid hormones and troponin could prevent certain forms of sudden cardiac death.