ST-elevation myocardial infarction and myelodysplastic syndrome with acute myeloid leukemia transformation

Acute myocardial infarction and acute myeloid leukemia are rarely reported as concomitant conditions. The management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients who have acute myeloid leukemia is challenging: the leukemia-related thrombocytopenia, platelet dysfunction, and systemic coagulopathy increase the risk of bleeding, and the administration of thrombolytic agents can be fatal. We report the case of a 76-year-old man who presented emergently with STEMI, myelodysplastic syndrome, and newly recognized acute myeloid leukemia transformation. Standard antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy were contraindicated by the patient's thrombocytopenia and by his reported ecchymosis and gingival bleeding upon admission. He declined cardiac catheterization, was provided palliative care, and died 2 hours after hospital admission. We searched the English-language medical literature, found 8 relevant reports, and determined that the prognosis for patients with concomitant STEMI and acute myeloid leukemia is clearly worse than that for either individual condition. No guidelines exist to direct the management of STEMI and concomitant acute myeloid leukemia. In 2 reports, dual antiplatelet therapy, anticoagulation, and drug-eluting stent implantation were used without an increased risk of bleeding in the short term, even in the presence of thrombocytopenia. However, we think that a more conservative approach--balloon angioplasty with the provisional use of bare-metal stents--might be safer. Simultaneous chemotherapy for the acute myeloid leukemia is crucial. Older age seems to be a major risk factor: patients too frail for emergent treatment can die within hours or days.