title: [Coronary artery spasm as a rare cause of sudden heart arrest].
abstract: After successful resuscitation only few patients present without any findings indicative of the causes of their cardiac arrest. We report on a 39-year-old woman who had normal clinical, electrocardiographic, and angiographic findings after she was successfully resuscitated. In contrast to other patients without apparent organic heart disease she had three cardiac arrests within 10 months; each episode was preceded by an ascending epigastric pain. During an attack with epigastric pain a long-term ECG recording documented an increasing ST-segment elevation followed by rapid, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. Intravenous ergonovine induced a spasm of the right coronary artery with a subtotal vessel occlusion and an ST-elevation in lead III. After medication with a calcium antagonist no coronary vasospasm was demonstrated. For 11 months the patient has been without any complaints.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Kardiologie, Universitäts-Krankenhaus Eppendorf, Hamburg.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schuchert
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kuck
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bleifeld
mesh_terms: D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003329:Coronary Vasospasm / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D012008:Recurrence
vernacular_title: Der Koronararterienspasmus als eine seltene Ursache des plötzlichen Herzstillstandes.