Acute myocardial infarction due to type A aortic dissection in a patient with corrected congenital cardiopathy: a case report

Ascending aortic dissection rarely presents as acute myocardial infarction, and when it does, its diagnosis is even more challenging.

We present a case of a young male with corrected congenital heart disease and a giant ascending aorta aneurysm. He was admitted to hospital for chest pain and was diagnosed with acute anterior myocardial infarction. Imaging tests showed dissection of the ascending aorta. He required complex cardiovascular surgery for Dacron tube implantation to treat the giant ascending aortic aneurysm.

This case is a reminder of how important adequate differential diagnosis is in the context of myocardial infarction, as well as the management of acute aortic syndrome. In our patient, the patency of the left coronary artery was verified using imaging techniques, and the most likely cause of the infarction could be the aneurysm extrinsically compressing the coronary artery.