Introduction: Coronary dissection is a rarely reported complication of cocaine use for which there are no specific guidelines on management despite the widespread use of the drug.
Methods: We report a case of a 26-year-old otherwise fit and healthy Caucasian male smoker who presented to our facility with an infero-lateral ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) following nasal inhalation of 1 gram of cocaine. Coronary angiography showed a mid left anterior descending (LAD) artery dissection with distal occlusive embolism and another dissection of the distal right coronary artery (RCA) with embolism and occlusion of the distal posterolateral branch.
Outcome: Wiring of both vessels with a High-Torque Floppy wire successfully re-established TIMI 3 flow with relief of pain and resolution of his ST-segment elevation. Given the absence of any flow-limiting lesions, stenting was avoided. He was subsequently put on a combination of therapeutic dose enoxaparin, aspirin, ticagrelor, atorvastatin and metoprolol. A repeat angiogram eight days later showed complete healing of the dissections.
Conclusion: This case shows that percutaneous management without stenting coupled with aggressive anti-coagulation of cocaine induced coronary dissection may result in an acceptable outcome especially in a young otherwise fit and healthy patient.
Keywords: Angioplasty; Cocaine; Dissection; Myocardial infarction.
Copyright © 2015 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.