title: Coronary embolism and calcified aortic valve: is there a correlation?
abstract: Coronary artery embolism is an uncommon cause of myocardial infarction. We report a case of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction due to a coronary embolism that originated from a calcified aortic valve. Coronary angiography demonstrated complete occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention was successfully performed, with aspiration of the valve tissue and complete restoration of the coronary artery blood flow. This was followed by aortic valve replacement a few days later.
authors.affiliation: Division of Interventional Cardiology, Dante Pazzanese Institute of Cardiology, Avenida Dante Pazzanese, 500, Ibirapuera, São Paulo, CEP 04012-180, Brazil. r_staico@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Staico
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Armaganijan
authors.forename: Renato D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000082882:Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004617:Embolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D062645:Percutaneous Coronary Intervention