title: Acute myocardial infarction in a young athlete: Optical coherence tomographic features of the culprit lesion.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We report on a young male athlete who suffered from acute myocardial infarction immediately after a vigorous training.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive optical coherence tomographic investigation of the culprit coronary artery was performed after the combined mechanical and pharmacological thrombus removal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The imaging discovered a tear at the junction of the non-obstructive, largely fibrotic plaque with the normal arterial wall. This exertion-related vessel damage resulted in a dynamic thrombosis that almost completely occluded the culprit artery. As the vessel obstruction was not considered flow-limiting, the stent implantation was not required and the patient was discharged on the double antiplatelet therapy and statin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Nova Gorica, Sempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Matjaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klemenc
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Nova Gorica, Sempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Budihna
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Nova Gorica, Sempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Mateja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bedencic
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Nova Gorica, Sempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartolic
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Nova Gorica, Sempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia; University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kranjec
keywords: Acute myocardial infarction; exertion-related intimal tear; optical coherence tomography; staged primary percutaneous coronary intervention