A case report of unusual clinical features of a spontaneous coronary artery rupture: pathologic findings in the rupture site

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous coronary artery rupture (SCAR) is an extremely rare but life-threatening state. The aetiology and the pathologic findings remain to be fully elucidated. CASE SUMMARY: A 62-year-old woman, who had been on haemodialysis for 27 years, presented with chest discomfort worsening on deep inspiration that had been ongoing for the past 2 weeks. An echocardiogram and computed tomography showed diffuse pericardial fluid. ST elevation in the broad leads, especially in leads I, II, and aVF, and increased C-reactive peptide and Troponin I levels suggested pericarditis. The patient initially had a stable course with no medications. The chest symptoms disappeared and her vital signs were stable. On Day 13 after admission, however, she had a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest due to a cardiac tamponade. An emergency coronary angiography showed extravasation of the contrast into the epicardium from the branch of the circumflex artery. She was diagnosed with SCAR and underwent a successful coil embolization. However, she went into an irreversible coma due to the cerebral hypoxia. On Day 33, she died of pneumonia. An autopsy showed a rupture of the internal elastic layer of the coronary artery. However, no specific findings, such as aneurysm and dissection, were evident. The common atherosclerotic changes were observed. DISCUSSION: The stable condition lasting for over 2 weeks was a rare clinical course for SCAR. Long-term hypertension and dialysis would have caused the rupture of the coronary artery with common atherosclerotic changes. We should consider SCAR as one of the differential diagnoses when we observe pericardial fluid.