Acute emotional stress, with chronic anxiety disorder, leading to development of life-threatening cardiovascular disease

In a new publication from Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications; DOI https://doi.org/10.15212/CVIA.2021.0021, Tao Tua, Jiang Lia, Zhenfei Fang, Xinqun Hu, Jianjun Tang, Yanshu Zhao, Liang Tang and Shenghua Zhou from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha City,Hunan, China discuss an acute emotional stress–induced in-hospital cardiac arrest in a patient admitted with gastrointestinal symptoms after experiencing chronic anxiety disorder.

The patient was admitted to the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, with gastrointestinal symptoms and chronic anxiety disorder, and experienced cardiac arrest during hospitalization after acute emotional stress. Malignant ventricular tachycardia and cardiogenic shock were evidenced in this patient after the acute emotional stress. Severe and extensive coronary spasm was confirmed by emergency coronary angiography, and coronary spasm was relieved by intracoronary injection of nitroglycerin. The patient recovered from myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries. However, the patient developed acute kidney dysfunction and severe pulmonary infection and eventually died of respiratory circulatory failure on the ninth day after the successful rescue.

Acute emotional stress on top of chronic anxiety disorder in patients hospitalized for noncardiovascular reasons might lead to the development of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery spasm and myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries. Psychological management is important to improve the patient outcome.

Citation information: In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest after Emotional Stress in a Patient Hospitalized with Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Chronic Anxiety Disorder, Tao Tua, Jiang Lia, Zhenfei Fang, Xinqun Hu, Jianjun Tang, Yanshu Zhao, Liang Tang and Shenghua Zhou, Cardiovasc. Innov. App., 2021, https://doi.org/10.15212/CVIA.2021.0021

Keywords: Myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries; coronary artery spasm; psycho-emotional disorders; cardiac arrest

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