Headache angina with fatal outcome

We report 2 fatal cases of angina pectoris in patients who complained primarily of headache during the ischemic attack. The first patient, who was hospitalized because of headache and chest pain, demonstrated repeated ST-segment elevation and fatal ventricular fibrillation on ambulatory ECG monitoring. The second patient had post-infarction angina preceded by headache and by ST-segment elevation in the precordial leads. She eventually died of reinfarction. The mechanism of the headache in relation to the angina pectoris is discussed.