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.
Unlabelled:
Chest pain is the typical symptom of myocardial infarction (MI), and there are many atypical manifestations such as stomachache or dyspnea. Headache is a rare presentation of MI, which has specifically been termed "cardiac cephalalgia" or "cardiac cephalgia". In this article, we have reported a case of sudden onset headache and neck pain, of whom MI was confirmed by electrocardiography, cardiac markers, and coronary angiogram. The patient's headache subsided dramatically after coronary angioplasty, and it had not recurred in the following one year. Additionally, diagnostic clues and possible mechanisms of cardiac cephalalgia are discussed as well.
Key Words:
Headache • Cardiac cephalgia • Cardiac cephalalgia • Myocardial infarction.
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