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Updated: May 18, 2026

Measurement of Myocardial Lactate Production for Diagnosis of Coronary Microvascular Spasm
Published on: September 17, 2021
Acute myocardial infarction after capecitabine treatment: not always vasospasm is responsible
Tolga Sinan Güvenç1, Emel Celiker, Kazim Serhan Ozcan
1Dr. Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center, Istanbul, Turkey. tsguvenc@gmail.com
Abstract:
Capecitabine is an orally available chemotherapeutic agent that is converted to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) after absorbtion. Capecitabine and its active metabolite, 5-FU, have cardiotoxic effects with reported instances of acute coronary syndromes caused due to coronary vasospasm. However, these agents exert toxic effects on cardiovascular system and beyond vasospasm provacation. We report a 46-year-old patient diagnosed as acute inferior infarction who is treated with capecitabine for 3 months due to metastatic breast carcinoma, in whom thrombotic coronary occlusion was observed in angiography. This case demonstrates that apart from vasospasm, coronary thrombosis could be observed after capecitabine treatment, with a possible direct effect of this drug.
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