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Cardiac cephalgia: A headache of the heart
Abdul Wadud Chowdhury1, Mohammed Abaye Deen Saleh1, Pratyay Hasan2
1Department of Cardiology, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Insights
Headache can be an atypical symptom of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Prompt diagnosis and treatment, like angioplasty with stenting, can resolve symptoms and prevent severe outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Internal Medicine
Background:
- Atypical presentations of common diseases pose diagnostic challenges.
- Ischemic heart disease (IHD) can progress to fatality without timely intervention.
- Recognizing unusual symptoms is crucial for effective patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of considering IHD in patients presenting with atypical symptoms.
- To report a case where headache was the sole presenting symptom of severe coronary artery disease.
- To emphasize the need for increased awareness and further research into the association between headache and IHD.
Main Methods:
- Case report of a 51-year-old male.
- Initial presentation with headache as the only symptom.
- Diagnosis of severe coronary artery disease confirmed.
- Treatment with coronary angioplasty and stenting.
Main Results:
- The patient was diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease.
- Symptoms, including headache, resolved completely following coronary angioplasty with stenting.
- This case illustrates a successful outcome after intervention for an atypical presentation of IHD.
Conclusions:
- Headache may be a more common atypical presentation of IHD than previously recognized.
- Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for IHD in patients with unexplained headaches.
- Further studies are warranted to determine the prevalence of headache as a symptom of IHD.
Abstract:
Atypical presentations of common diseases are often difficult to identify in time, nonetheless necessary, especially in cases of diseases like ischemic heart disease (IHD) which otherwise may progress into irreversible stage and ultimately, fatality, in the absence of timely administered medical treatment. We report a case of a 51-year-old male, presenting initially with only headache as the sole symptom, who later was diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, and the symptoms resolved completely after coronary angioplasty with stenting. <Learning objective: Atypical presentations, such as headache, can be more prevalent in ischemic heart disease (IHD) than was thought of, so awareness of the possibility of IHD while assessing headache and further study to see actually how commonly headache is associated with IHD are necessary.>.
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