Abstract

Background: Although both coronary artery dissection and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia may provoke myocardial infarction, it is extremely rare for both conditions to develop simultaneously in a single patient. We report a case of a 69-year-old woman who sustained a head-on motor vehicle accident with associated chest trauma. Methodology: During a subsequent hospitalization, she was exposed to subcutaneous heparin and developed significant thrombocytopenia. Shortly after that, she was represented with acute myocardial infarction. Result: Coronary angiography revealed a spiral dissection with superimposed thrombosis within the right coronary artery, while laboratory testing confirmed the diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. She was treated with catheter-based thrombectomy and adjunctive direct thrombin inhibitor therapy, followed by three months of systemic anticoagulation with warfarin. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this represents the first published case of a native vessel myocardial infarction due to the combination of coronary artery dissection and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Keywords: myocardial infarction, coronary artery dissection, and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.