Recurrent coronary stent thrombosis.

A 63-year-old woman with an acute anterior myocardial infarction was treated with primary stent implantation. The absence of coronary artery stenosis and an haematocrit of 58 were indicative of a myeloproliferative disorder and the diagnosis of polycythaemia vera (Vaquez' disease) was confirmed by bone marrow aspiration. The patient had a re-infarction 8 days later. A rescue percutaneous angioplasty was performed for stent thrombosis after unsuccessful thrombolysis. A few hours after sheath removal, a femoral artery thrombosis at the puncture side needed urgent thrombectomy. Finally, a second re-infarction occurred, followed by an irreversible cardiac arrest. Stent thrombosis is a difficult-to-treat complication in patients with polycythaemia vera. If this haematologic disorder is known, primary stent implantation for acute myocardial infarction may not be the first choice in these patients.