Delayed presentation of acute coronary syndrome with mechanical complication during COVID-19 pandemic: a case report

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic on 11 March 2020. We report a patient with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who presented late due to fears of contracting COVID-19. CASE SUMMARY: A 65-year-old man with a history of hypertension presented late to the emergency department (ED) with AMI. He gave a 2-month history of exertional angina but avoided seeking medical consult due to fears of contracting COVID-19. On the day of admission, he had 4 h of severe chest pain before presenting to the ED. He was hypotensive and tachycardic on arrival. Electrocardiogram showed inferolateral ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Chest radiograph revealed widened superior mediastinum and bedside echocardiogram revealed inferoseptal and inferolateral hypokinesia with features of cardiac tamponade. An urgent computed tomography aortogram showed possible left ventricular (LV) wall perforation with resulting haemopericardium and cardiac tamponade. Subsequent coronary angiogram showed 100% occlusion of mid left circumflex artery and a contained LV wall rupture was confirmed with LV ventriculogram. He was transferred to a tertiary centre and underwent successful emergency surgical repair. DISCUSSION: Our index case demonstrates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health seeking behaviour due to fears of contracting COVID-19 and the ensuing impact of delayed medical intervention. Cardiologists worldwide are seeing an alarming rate of rare complications of AMI in patients who present late. Physicians need to be aware of this phenomenon and have an active role to play in public education.