Case history
Case history #1
A 54-year-old man with a medical history of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, smoking, and family history of premature coronary artery disease presents with retrosternal crushing chest pain (10/10 in intensity), radiating down the left arm and left side of the neck. He feels nauseated and light-headed and is short of breath. Examination reveals hypotension, diaphoresis, and considerable discomfort with diffuse bilateral crackles on chest auscultation. ECG reveals convex ST-segment elevation in leads V1 to V6.
Case history #2
A 70-year-old woman is 2 days post-operative for knee replacement surgery. Her past medical history includes type 2 diabetes and a 40 pack-year history of smoking. She reports feeling suddenly unwell with dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. She denies any chest pain. On examination she is hypotensive and diaphoretic. ECG shows convex ST-segment elevation in leads II, III, and aVF with reciprocal ST segment depression and T-wave inversion in leads I and aVL.
Other presentations
Patients with STEMI may also be asymptomatic or present with atypical chest pain or epigastric pain.
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