Atypical presentation of a middle age male with severe hypertriglyceridaemia: a case report

BACKGROUND: Severe hypertriglyceridaemia (HTG) is uncommon but most prevalent in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and excess ethanol intake. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a case of a middle age male (53 y) presenting to the emergency room with acute atypical central chest pain and severe HTG in the absence of evidence of overt ischaemic heart disease (IHD). Admission ECG and EET (exercise tolerance test) were negative for reversible ischaemic changes. His admission glucose was 12.2 mmol/l, triglycerides (TG) were 103 mmol/l, total cholesterol 37 mmol/l. Cardiac Troponin T could not be measured on three occasions but CK MB mass was normal at 3 μg/l. The patient was started on Bezafibrate 400 mg OD, Simvastatin 20 mg nocte, Omacor (Omega-3 fish oil) 1 gm bd and Metformin 500 mg tds. Four weeks after admission, lipid and liver profiles showed remarkable improvement, TG 2.9 mmol/l, Tchol 6.3 mmol/l and HDLc 1.5 mmol/l, ALAT and GGT were normal. CONCLUSION: A case report of severe hypertriglyceridaemia with atypical presentation demonstrate the role of combined lipid modifying agents in lowering triglycerides and cholesterol as well as improving liver enzymes.