Article Text
Summary
A 41-year-old woman was visiting Oxford, where she had a sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started by a bystander until the paramedics arrived, who found her in ventricular fibrillation, and delivered three shocks. After 28 min she had return of spontaneous circulation. Emergency coronary angiography revealed normal coronary arteries. Echocardiography followed by a cardiac MRI showed non-dilated left ventricles with no evidence of late gadolinium enhancement. She had a single-chamber implantable-cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). A chest CT showed sternal fracture and subsegmental pulmonary embolism, for which she was anticoagulated and was discharged.
Several days later, the patient presented to another hospital with atypical chest pain and dizziness. She had haemodynamic instability and echocardiography showed the ICD lead perforating through the right ventricle, with a large pericardial effusion and tamponade, for which pericardiocentesis was done. Afterwards, the patient had repositioning of the ICD lead safely.
- pacing and electrophysiology
- clinical diagnostic tests
- pericardial disease
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Footnotes
Contributors AA and NW had written and prepared the manuscript. KH and MF were supervising consultants.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Obtained.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Correction notice AQ 1- Cardiology Department, Kettering General HospitalAQ2-Cardiology Department, Royal Cornwall HospitalCorrection