Clinical manifestation as acute coronary syndrome without electrocardiographically ischemia: a clue for aortic dissection

Aortic dissection is a critical condition requiring immediate assessment and management. Clinical presentation is commonly associated with severe chest pain and high blood pressure. However, misdiagnosis is frequent because of various features. We presented a case of 51-year-old woman who complained of dyspnea for 3 d after she experienced back pain for one week. She was presented with severe respiration distress with impending respiration failure on arrival to our hospital. Her chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly with acute pulmonary edema. The laboratory data revealed elevated cardiac enzyme and electrocardiography demonstrated sinus tachycardia. She was hospitalized under the initial diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. The patient remained hemodynamically stable, and experienced one episode of chest discomfort. After electrocardiography, she was found with bigeminy ventricular premature beats without ST-T change. Follow-up cardiac enzyme demonstrated progressive declined. Cardiac catheterization was performed on the third day of admission, and coronary angiography revealed large intimal flap on aortic root with bilateral coronary artery involvement. Surgical management was arranged after immediate chest computed tomography study.