Acute myocardial infarction in young adults with antiphospholipid syndrome: report of two cases and literature review

Acute Myocardial Infarction: Etiologies and Mimickers in Young Patients

Acute myocardial infarction is an important cause of death worldwide. While it often affects patients of older age, acute myocardial infarction is garnering more attention as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among young patients (<45 years of age). More specifically, there is a focus on recognizing the unique etiologies for myocardial infarction in these younger patients as nonatherosclerotic etiologies occur more frequently in this population. As such, there is a potential for delayed and inaccurate diagnoses and treatments that can carry serious clinical implications. The understanding of acute myocardial infarction manifestations in young patients is evolving, but there remains a significant need for better strategies to rapidly diagnose, risk stratify, and manage such patients. This comprehensive review explores the various etiologies for acute myocardial infarction in young adults and outlines the approach to efficient diagnosis and management for these unique patient phenotypes.

Antiphospholipid syndrome combined with acute coronary syndrome: Case report

RATIONALE

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) combined with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is rarely reported.

PATIENT CONCERNS

One male patient with APS was admitted to our hospital, who had recent unstable angina (UA).

DIAGNOSIS

The preliminary diagnosis of ACS and UA (BraunwaldiB) was then made.

INTERVENTIONS

This patient received secondary preventative therapy for coronary heart disease (CHD) in combination with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and implantation of NeoVas Bioresorbable Coronary Scaffold.

OUTCOMES

The patient was followed up, without new UA episodes were observed at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 year after surgery, respectively.

LESSONS

It was thus concluded that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is effective for APS patients and NeoVas scaffold implantation is presumed safe.

Intravascular Images of Coronary Stenosis with Multiple Channels in a Patient with Antiphospholipid Syndrome: The Optical Coherence Tomography Findings

Intravascular images of coronary stenosis by antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) would be beneficial to understand the mechanism of this disease. A 59-year-old woman with APS/systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE) underwent emergent coronary angiography which revealed stenosis with micro channels in the proximal left anterior descending artery. According to optical coherence tomography (OCT), the central lumen was surrounded by a thick septum with a homogenous and high intensity. Multiple small channels existed near the vessel wall with diffuse intimal hyperplasia. White thrombi were floating distal to the stenosis. Intravascular images obtained by optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed the microstructure of complex coronary stenosis, which had ambiguous findings on angiography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patient with APS/SLE.

Inpatient versus outpatient onsets of acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

There are few studies on patients suffering acute myocardial infarction (AMI) when already in hospital for other reasons; therefore, this study aimed to compare patients with in-hospital-onset AMI admitted for either medical or surgical reasons versus patients with outpatient-onset AMI.

METHODS

Patients enrolled in the AMIS Plus registry from 2002 to 2014 were analyzed. The main endpoint was in-hospital mortality.

RESULTS

Among 35,394 AMI patients, 356 (1%) had inpatient-onset AMI following hospital admission due to other pathologies (surgical 175, non-surgical 181). These patients were older (74 vs. 66 years; P<0.001), more often female (35% vs. 27%; P<0.001), had less frequently ST-elevation myocardial infarction (35.5% vs. 55.5%; P<0.001), but higher risk profiles: hypertension (83% vs. 62%; P<0.001), diabetes (28% vs. 20%; P=0.001), known coronary artery disease (54% vs. 35%; P<0.001), and more comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index above 1 in 51% vs. 22%; P<0.001) than those with outpatient-onset AMI. Percutaneous coronary intervention was less frequently applied (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.36-0.57), and they were less likely to be treated with aspirin (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.37-0.59), P2Y12 blockers (OR 0.42; 0.34-0.52) or statins (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.41-0.63). Crude mortality was higher (14.3% vs. 5.5%; P<0.001) and inpatient-onset AMI was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (OR 2.35; 95% CI 1.63-3.39; P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with in-hospital-onset AMI were at greater risk of death than those with outpatient-onset AMI. More work is needed to improve the identification of hospitalized patients at risk of AMI in order to provide the appropriate management.

Therapeutic challenges after successful thrombectomy in a patient with an antiphospholipid syndrome associated M1-occlusion: A case report

BACKROUND

Stroke is a frequent disorder in patients with an antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Due to a high risk for further thromboembolic events, appropriate anticoagulation therapy in patients with an APS-associated stroke seems mandatory but drug eluting and duration is a matter of debate.

CASE

A 48-year-old female patient presented with Broca's aphasia and mild hemiparesis on the right side. Diagnostic work-up revealed left middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion yet without diffusion-weighted lesions. Due to a thrombocytopenia (67.00 g/l) systemic thrombolysis was not indicated and endovascular treatment was initiated 150 min after symptom onset. After successful clot retrieval, recurrent re-occlusions lead to the necessity of stent implantation and anticoagulation, respectively. On day 5 she developed a new severe right-sided hemiparesis. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a subtotal restenosis of the left MCA despite the regular anticoagulation regime leading to a new left MCA ischaemic stroke. In the meantime, the unknown aetiology, the patients' age and the thrombocytopenia let to further diagnostic workup. Elevated blood parameters such as lupus anticoagulant (LA)-1, LA-ratio, positive anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), p-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), c-ANCA confirmed the diagnosis of APS.

CONCLUSION

This case report showed the feasibility of mechanical clot retrieval and stent implantation in patients with APS. Due to the elevated risk of in-stent thrombosis a prolonged therapy with glycoprotein (GP)IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists in the initial postoperative period and further anticoagulation with coumarin derivate might be needed.