title: Acute dyspnea in a young man with an old sternotomy.
abstract: Described is a 42-year-old man with complex congenital heart disease with single-ventricle physiology who underwent a Fontan operation at 27 years of age. He presented with sudden-onset chest pain and dyspnea and was initially misdiagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. This case is described in order to highlight the challenges in the evaluation of common presentations in adults with congenital heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ekrieger@cardiology.washington.edu
authors.forename: Eric V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Landzberg
authors.forename: Karen K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Stout
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D018729:Fontan Procedure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis; D012086:Reoperation; D056346:Sternotomy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome