title: Snake heart: a case of atavism in a human being.
abstract: Atavism is the rare reappearance, in a modern organism, of a trait from a distant evolutionary ancestor. We describe an apparent case of atavism involving a 59-year-old man with chest pain whose coronary circulation and myocardial architecture resembled those of the reptilian heart. The chest pain was attributed to a coronary steal phenomenon. The patient was discharged from the hospital on a heightened regimen of β-blockers, and his symptoms improved significantly. To our knowledge, this is only the 2nd reported clinical case of a human coronary circulation similar to that of reptiles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Ishmeet
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Walia
authors.forename: Harvinder S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.forename: Esmond A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: Reynolds M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: O H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Frazier
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple; D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D056830:Isolated Noncompaction of the Ventricular Myocardium / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012911:Snakes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016157:Vascular Fistula / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists