[en] We reported the case of spontaneous rupture of a coronary artery. It was a 56-year-old man admitted for dyspnoea and anterior thoracic pain. The most striking feature on physical examination was the marked cyanosis of his face, upper part of the thorax and the upper limb. The patient was haemodynamically unstable with tachycardia and hypotension. Cardiac tamponade was confirmed by echocardiography and computed tomography of the thorax. The patient was transferred for surgery. Emergency sternotomy revealed pericardial bloody effusion and a continuous bleeding around the posterior interventricular artery. No other per-operative findings could explain the haemopericardium. Haemostasis was obtained by a suture of the bleeding coronary artery.
Research center :
Service de Cardiologie
Disciplines :
Cardiovascular & respiratory systems
Author, co-author :
Moonen, Marie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Cardiologie - Pathologie spéciale et réhabilitation
Hanssen, Michel ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > Cardiologie
Radermecker, Marc ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > Chirurgie cardio-vasculaire
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