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[Cardiac injury after indirect lightning strike]
Francisco J Ruiz Ruiz1, Fernando J Ruiz Laiglesia, Antonio Lobo Escolar
1Servicio de Medicina Interna B, Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa, Zaragoza, Spain. ruizruizfj@yahoo.es
Abstract:
Lightning strike is one of the most frequent causes of death due to natural phenomena. In such cases, cardiac injury is the main cause of death, with type of lesion varying by type of impact. We report the case of a 29-year-old woman who was struck indirectly by lightning. Upon hospital admission, she showed both the echocardiographic disturbances characteristic of direct impact and electrocardiographic disturbances. Both types of change resolved spontaneously. After describing the case, we briefly review the literature on echo and electrocardiographic disturbances after lightning strike.