Abstract
The importance of early thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction has been highlighted in several large trials. The clinical decision is often taken by physicians who need to take a rapid action with the risk of misdiagnosing non-coronary events that mimic myocardial infarction. Here we describe a case of acute pericarditis in a 37-year-old man whom received thrombolysis and developed a sudden hemorrhagic pericardial effusion that evolved rapidly into a cardiac tamponade. These errors leading to lethal thrombolysis complications have been surprisingly rare; but a correct diagnosis of aortic dissection or hemorrhagic pericarditis needs to be stressed because even after obtaining the correct diagnosis, the prolonged disturbance of hemostasis prevents a rapid therapy being instigated.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 83-87 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Acute Cardiac Care |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Myocardial infarction
- Streptokinase
- Thrombolysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Emergency Medicine
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine