Acute myocardial infarction as a complication of clonidine withdrawal.
Abrupt withdrawal from clonidine therapy is a well-known cause of hyperadrenergic symptoms, but reports of acute myocardial infarction are extremely rare. We present the case of an 86-year-old woman who developed severe hypertension and a myocardial infarction 36 h after terminating her therapy of clonidine, 0.4 mg/day. Symptoms quickly responded to the administration of labetolol and diazepam. Subsequent cardiac catheterization showed no evidence of coronary occlusion, suggesting that excessive myocardial oxygen demand was responsible for the infarction.
Simic
John
J
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California 90033, USA.
Kishineff
Stephen
S
Goldberg
Richard
R
Gifford
William
W
D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003000:Clonidine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000139:chemically induced*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D003000:Clonidine