Recurrent cardiac arrest and complete atrioventricular block due to idiopathic coronary vasospasm: A case report
Wei Gao,
Yingwu Liu,
Tong Li
Affiliations
Wei Gao
Department of Heart Center, The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, 83 Jintang Road, Hedong District, Tianjin, 300170, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Extracorporeal Life Support for Critical Diseases, China; Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center, Tianjin, China; Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Tianjin, China; Corresponding author. Department of Heart Center, The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, 83 Jintang Road, Hedong District, Tianjin, 300170, China.
Yingwu Liu
Department of Heart Center, The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, 83 Jintang Road, Hedong District, Tianjin, 300170, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Extracorporeal Life Support for Critical Diseases, China; Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center, Tianjin, China; Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Tianjin, China
Tong Li
Department of Heart Center, The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, 83 Jintang Road, Hedong District, Tianjin, 300170, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Extracorporeal Life Support for Critical Diseases, China; Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center, Tianjin, China; Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease, Tianjin, China; Corresponding author. Department of Heart Center, The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, 83 Jintang Road, Hedong District, Tianjin, 300170, China.
Recurrent complete atrioventricular block induced by coronary spasm is rare. We present a case of a 47-year-old woman who suffered from two episodes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest within one year due to complete atrioventricular block caused by coronary vasospasm. No implantable cardioverter defibrillator was implanted after her first episode. As for the second episode, permanent brain injury was left behind despite successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She underwent a challenging rehabilitation process and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator was implanted before discharge. We captured the dynamic changes of the electrocardiogram during the episode with high temporal resolution. This case illustrates the importance of recognizing coronary spasm as a potential cause of complete atrioventricular block and highlights the need for implantable cardioverter defibrillator in such patients to improve survival and quality of life.
