A case of demand ischemia from phendimetrazine

INTRODUCTION: Phendimetrazine is a medication currently being used to help patients with weight loss. It shares a chemical structure with amphetamines. As such, it shares some of the same toxicities, which can include cardiac toxicity. This case highlights this principle. CASE PRESENTATION: a 54 year old Caucasian female presented to our urgent care facility with complaints of chest pains and other symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome. Ultimately, she was transferred to the emergency room. After evaluation there, it appeared she was having demand ischemia from prescription diet pills CONCLUSION: This case report demonstrates the potential dangers of amphetamine based diet pills. There have been other cases of cardiomyopathies related to phendimetrazine, but it is something that is rarely recognized in an outpatient setting. A case such as this demonstrates the importance of obtaining a careful medication history in all patients and in recognizing diet pills with an amphetamine base can cause cardiac toxicity.