Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Postpartum and Recurrence during Menopause: Hormonal Involvement in Acute Coronary Syndromes

Abstract

In this case report, we present a case of a 38-year-old woman with no cardiac history and no risk factors who was admitted to the hospital with a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) after pregnancy. Twelve years later, she suffered a recurrent SCAD during her menopause. SCAD is a rare occurrence of acute coronary syndromes and recurrence is even more rare. SCAD seems to occur predominantly in females and seems to be related to hormone levels. At first presentation, the patient was 38 years old and 4 weeks postpartum. She presented with chest pain. Electrocardiogram (ECG) showed loss of r-amplitude but no ST-segment deviation. Troponins were elevated and showed significant rise and fall. She was treated with dual anti-platelet strategy and underwent coronary angiography (CAG) which showed a type 1 dissection of the distal circumflex artery. The lesion was treated conservatively. Second presentation was 12 years later, in which she again presented with chest pain this time during menopause. ECG showed marginal changes and the troponins were again elevated. She underwent CAG again which showed a new SCAD (Type 2 B) in the second marginal obtuse artery. The old SCAD lesion was healed. Renal angiography was preformed which showed an renal bead pattern typical for fibromuscular dysplasia. Again, she was treated conservatively. This case is the first case report of a patient suffering from a recurrent SCAD in a different coronary artery, both events probably related to hormonal changes, that is, postpartum and during menopause. This may emphasize careful examination of chest pain in menopause patients with a history of earlier SCAD.