Paradoxical coronary artery embolism causing acute myocardial infarction in a young woman with factor V Leiden thrombophillia.

Paradoxical coronary artery embolism is a rare but under-diagnosed cause of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and requires a high level of clinical suspicion to make an early diagnosis. We describe the case of a young woman who presented with a severe cough and chest pain who was subsequently found to have a paradoxical embolus in the right coronary artery. Echocardiography showed a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and an atrial septal aneurysm (ASA). The patient was found to be a heterozygous carrier of the factor V Leiden mutation that increases the risk for venous-thromboembolism. The association between a PFO and an ASA is a risk factor for systemic embolisation. This is the first reported case of paradoxical coronary artery embolus causing AMI in a non-pregnant patient with factor Leiden thrombophilia. Identification of this clinical phenotype is vital as the risk of future embolic events can be reduced by anticoagulation and closure of anatomical cardiac defects.

[A 49-year-old woman with deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and left-sided paralysis]. / 49-jährige Patientin mit tiefer Beinvenenthrombose, Lungenembolie und linksseitiger Hemiparese.

We report the case of a 49-year-old female patient who was admitted stationary because of a left-sided paralysis which had appeared some hours before. An embolic occlusion of the right A. cerebri media turned out to be the cause. A paradoxical embolism could be assumed because of an existing deep vein thrombosis and an increased right-ventricular pressure within a hemodynamically relevant fulminant pulmonary embolism as well as the additional existence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO). Systemic lysis as treatment of the pulmonary embolism was contraindicated because slight bleeding had occurred in the area of the right basal ganglia after treatment of the embolic occlusion of the right A. cerebri media by a local lysis. Subsequently and in the acuteness, a catheter interventional PFO-closure via a double-umbrella device was placed and the pulmonary embolism was effectively treated by a local lysis through the insertion of a pigtail-catheter into the right pulmonary artery.

Paradoxical coronary embolism causing non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in a case of pulmonary embolism.

We describe the case of a 61-year-old woman who simultaneously suffered a pulmonary embolism and a myocardial infarction due to paradoxical coronary artery embolism. Transesophageal echocardiography with injection of agitated hydroxyethyl starch revealed a patent foramen ovale. Thrombophlebistis of the left saphenous vein with extension of thrombus into the femoral vein could be identified as the source of embolism. Paradoxical coronary embolism is an underrecognized cause of MI. Diagnosis is particularly difficult, when MI and PE coincide, because of the similarity in clinical signs and symptoms of both entities. A high level of clinical suspicion and echocardiography, especially if performed soon after presentation, can be the clue to early diagnosis of PDE.

Factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutation may predispose to paradoxical embolism in subjects with patent foramen ovale.

The role of paradoxical embolism through patent foramen ovale as a mechanism of cryptogenic stroke is controversial. If a venous source of emboli is relevant, prothrombotic states should be associated with patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke. We assessed the occurrence of several prothrombotic states (factor V Leiden, prothrombin G20210A, deficiencies in protein S, protein C and antithrombin, lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin antibodies, elevated factor VIII, resistance to activated protein C) and classical risk factors for venous thrombosis in 57 adult patients with cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale and in 104 matched controls. Prothrombotic states [odds ratio (OR) 2.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2-6.5; P = 0.021], migraine with aura (OR 4.4; 95% CI 1.8-10.8; P = 0.001) and classical risk factors for venous thrombosis (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.1-5.7; P = 0.037) were independent risk factors for cryptogenic stroke. In particular factor V Leiden or prothrombin G20210A associated with cryptogenic stroke (P = 0.022) whereas other coagulation abnormalities did not (P = 0.140). Among the patients with prothrombotic states, Valsalva manoeuvre was common at onset of stroke. Our results support the possibility of paradoxical embolism behind strokes in patients with patent foramen ovale.