Giant cell myocarditis is an aggressive form of this condition that is typically progressive and unresponsive to usual medical treatment. Here, we describe a 34-year-old patient presenting with incessant ventricular arrhythmias with hemodynamic compromise who required prolonged support in intensive care with an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). His Coronary arteries were normal and LV endomyocardial biopsy revealed myocyte necrosis with inflammatory infiltrate of lymphocytes, eosinophils, and giant cells suggestive of giant cell myocarditis. He was successfully treated with pulsed intravenous methylprednisolone and rat antithymocyte globulin (RATG). Despite a good functional cardiac recovery, some months later he developed a fluctuant neck swelling which fine needle aspiration confirmed as tuberculosis.
Summary
Pseudo-aneurysms are a rare, potentially life-threatening complication of a myocardial infarction. We present the case of a 45-year-old male who was brought to the emergency department in extremis and had a previous history of a late presentation inferior ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated percutaneously. Clinical examination revealed evidence of cardiogenic shock, pulmonary edema and a pulsatile epigastric mass. Chest X-ray demonstrated marked cardiomegaly and pulmonary edema. Urgent echocardiography confirmed the presence of a huge basal inferior wall pseudo-aneurysm with bi-directional flow. This was also associated with severe mitral regurgitation, due to posterior mitral annular involvement. The patient was transferred to the local cardiothoracic surgical unit where he underwent emergency repair of the pseudo-aneurysm and mitral valve replacement. Despite the surgery being complex he made a full recovery.
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