JACC: Case Reports (Dec 2020)

Scared to Death

  • Alberto Aimo, MD,
  • Marco Di Paolo, MD,
  • Vincenzo Castiglione, MD,
  • Martina Modena, BS,
  • Andrea Barison, MD, PhD,
  • Matteo Benvenuti, MD,
  • Valentina Bugelli, MD,
  • Carlo Pietro Campobasso, MD,
  • Benedetta Guidi, MD,
  • Paolo G. Camici, MD, PhD,
  • Michele Emdin, MD, PhD

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 15
pp. 2400 – 2403

Abstract

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Myocardial infarction with nonobstructed coronary arteries (MINOCA) can be triggered by intense emotions. We report 5 cases of emotional stress–related death where forensic examination attributed myocardial infarction to a coronary spasm, with the ultimate cause of death being arrhythmias in 4 cases and cardiac rupture in the fifth. (Level of Difficulty: Beginner.)

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