Myocardial Infarction in a Young Asymptomatic Athlete due to a Myocardial Bridge

Antonopoulos AS, Tsampras T, Tsioufis K and Vlachopoulos C*

1st Department of Cardiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

^*Correspondance to: Charalambos Vlachopoulos 

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Abstract:

Background: Coronary artery anomalies are among the causes of sudden cardiac death in young athletes and should always be considered in the setting of abnormal paraclinical medical examinations, even if no symptoms are present. Case Summary: We report a case of a 16-year-old asymptomatic male patient, in whom an abnormal ECG during pre-sports participation screening triggered further investigation. Multimodality imaging with coronary CT angiography and stress perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance led to the diagnosis of an extensive myocardial ischemic scar due to a long and deep myocardial bridge of the left anterior descending artery. The patient was initially advised to abstain from competitive exercise due to the presence of peri-infarct myocardial ischemia. Because of the extent of the ischemia and the patient’s desire to exercise, surgical unroofing was recommended. Conclusion: Although commonly benign, long, and deep myocardial bridges may occasionally be associated with large ischemic scars. Young athletes may be totally asymptomatic due to high coronary flow reserve. Multimodality imaging has a role in the thorough evaluation of such cases.

Keywords:

Case report; Pre-sports participation screening; Myocardial ischemia; Myocardial bridge

Cite the Article:

Antonopoulos AS, Tsampras T, Tsioufis K, Vlachopoulos C. Myocardial Infarction in a Young Asymptomatic Athlete due to a Myocardial Bridge. Ann Clin Case Rep. 2024; 9: 2602..