[Acute myocardial infarction and bronchoalveolar carcinoma. Association or coincidence?]

Arch Inst Cardiol Mex. 1991 May-Jun;61(3):231-5.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to report for the first time the association between bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Two patients suffering from this association were studied. A 59 year old male, diabetic, alcoholic and smoker was admitted because a diaphragmatic AMI. An interventricular septal defect and papillary posterior muscle rupture were confirmed at autopsy. A 0.8 cm diameter friable mass was found in the right lung superior lobe. The second case was a 69 year old male, smoker, who presented with a diaphragmatic and right ventricular posterior wall AMI. A round 1 cm diameter tumor was observed at the right lung superior lobe. It had a caseous aspect lying over a fibrous scar. Both cases had severe right coronary artery narrowings with recent occlusive thrombi. The cardiac valves were free of non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis. Therefore the possibility of coronary embolization was discarded. As lung carcinomas produce vasospastic and thrombogenic mucins, these substances could have been responsible for the acute coronary thrombosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • English Abstract
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar / complications*
  • Aged
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / complications*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / etiology*