Heart Attack Causes Head-Ache - Cardiac Cephalalgia

Chi-Cheng Huang1, Pen-Chih Liao1

  • 1Division of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Center, Far-Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Insights

Sudden headache can signal myocardial infarction (MI), a rare but serious condition. Prompt treatment of MI, like coronary angioplasty, can resolve this cardiac cephalalgia.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Neurology

Background:

  • Myocardial infarction (MI) typically presents with chest pain, but atypical symptoms like headache (cardiac cephalalgia) can occur.
  • Cardiac cephalalgia is a rare manifestation of MI, requiring careful clinical consideration.

Observation:

  • A case of sudden onset headache and neck pain was reported.
  • The patient's condition was confirmed as MI via electrocardiography, cardiac markers, and coronary angiogram.

Findings:

  • The patient experienced dramatic relief from headache following coronary angioplasty.
  • Headache did not recur in the year after the intervention.

Implications:

  • This case highlights the importance of considering MI in patients presenting with unexplained headache.
  • Understanding cardiac cephalalgia mechanisms may improve diagnosis and treatment of MI.
  • Coronary angioplasty may effectively treat cardiac cephalalgia associated with MI.
Abstract

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