Ventricular fibrillation arrest in aortic dissection presenting as myocardial injury

Abstract

An acute aortic dissection can be a tremendously fatal vascular condition if not managed promptly. However, the symptom profile of aortic dissections can be ambiguous to numerous conditions which are more common and greater pursued by clinicians before suspicion of dissection is made. The case presented in this study is of a 61-year-old male who arrives to the emergency department for concern of new-onset chest pain which progresses into ventricular fibrillation arrest prior to diagnosis of aortic dissection. This case report profiles the mimicking possibility of aortic dissection to present as acute myocardial injury, and the utility of models use to differentiate the workup between aortic dissections and acute coronary syndromes.

Keywords

• Aortic dissection
• Myocardial ischemia
• Acute coronary syndrome
• Ventricular fibrillation