A young man with acute anterior wall myocardial infarction after Cannabis abuse: Identification of perivascular edema of the culprit lesion after plaque rupture using cardiovascular magnetic resonance tomography

Abstract

Canabis abuse is a rare but well-known und increasing cause of myocardial infarction in young people, predominantly in the male sex. Although the exact pathophysiological mechanism is not completely understood, several hypotheses have been proposed: coronary artery spasm due to alpha-adrenergic receptor stimulation; premature atherosclerosis with „classical “plaque formation and rupture resulting in thrombus formation with complete vessel closure. The latter model is supported by the fact that concomitant cigarette smoking is usual in cannabis drug abusers and represents a classical cardiovascular risk factor [1].