title: Electrocardiographic changes after head trauma.
abstract: We report the case of a patient who developed, a few days after a closed head injury, marked electrocardiographic changes mimicking an acute coronary event, in the absence of actual cardiac damage. The electrocardiographic changes were fully reversible, paralleling the neurologic status. Neuroimaging examinations excluded subarachnoid hemorrhage or space-occupying hematoma, but demonstrated diffuse axonal injury using susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance techniques. This kind of traumatic brain injury thus may be responsible for a pseudo-acute myocardial ischemic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care, University Hosital Saint-Luc, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wittebole
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hantson
authors.forename: Pierre-François
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Laterre
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Galvez
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Duprez
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dejonghe
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Renkin
authors.forename: Bernhard L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.forename: Christian R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Brohet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001146:Arrhythmia, Sinus / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D020833:Diffuse Axonal Injury / Q000150:complications*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology