Cardiocerebral Infarction: A Combination to Prevent

Abstract

The acute complications of myocardial infarction (MI), such as mechanical, arrhythmic, ischemic, and inflammatory sequelae, may be responsible for significant cardiovascular morbimortality.1 Life-threatening arrhythmias, namely ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, may be a challenging complication requiring a prompt approach. In some cases, acute ischemia leads to polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT), and, rarely, to potentially lethal torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia.2-3 Another potential complication in the onset or after a MI is a cerebral infarction. The expression “cardiocerebral infarction” was first described by Omar et al.,5 in 2010. It can be classified as “synchronous” or “metachronous” which are simultaneous or sequential infarctions in the cerebral and coronary vascular territories, respectively.4-5 In-hospital stroke after an acute coronary syndrome is estimated around 0.9% with the highest incidence for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Despite uncommon, it is a severe complication with a tough and unclear management.6-8