Today in Weird patientthe heart of a man that beats as fast as that of a little mouse!
At the beginning of February, a 57-year-old man presented to Saint-Vincent Hospital, located in Worcester, Massachusetts (United States), for persistent chest pain and recurring discomfort. Symptoms that would have been taken seriously in anyone but this patient is also quadriplegicquadriplegic and once fell out of his wheelchair due to one of his illnesses. Doctors suspect a heart problem.
His state of health is not linked to his paralysis because he has been disabled for more than ten years following a road accident. But this is not the first time he has suffered from a heart problem. Previously, he had a stent inserted to keep his right coronary artery open, damaged after a myocardial infarctionmyocardial infarction.
The first examinations show nothing particular, his vital signs are stable and no anomalyanomaly physicalphysical is not identified. However, blood tests show abnormally high troponin levels. Troponin is a proteinprotein involved in the contraction of muscles including the heart. Its presence in too large quantities in the blood is a sign of a heart problem. L’electrocardiogramelectrocardiogram is normal when the patient is admitted, but on the third day of treatment, the doctors observe something astonishing!
A heart as lively as a mouse’s
For about 20 seconds, the patient’s heart beat at 600 beats per minute! This is quite simply a record, never has a human heart beaten so quickly under the eyeseyes doctors. During this brief episode, the patient experienced several discomforts and complained of intense chest pain. Fortunately, his heart gradually calms down, first around 300 beats per minute, a rate that is still too high, before returning to normal values.
Following this episode, the doctors decided to operate urgently. The distal part of his right coronary artery was completely blocked and the surgeon was able to successfully repair it. The patient returns home two days later with a peaceful heart.
This case of tachycardiatachycardia extreme is unique in the scientific literature. The previous record was 480 beats per minute, measured in utero at a fetusfetus whose mother was taking medication forCardiac arrythmiaCardiac arrythmia. At 600 beats per minute, our patient’s heart beat as fast as a mouse’s! The human heart is not designed to beat so quickly, and such extreme tachycardia can be fatal if it lasts too long. Fortunately, in this case, everything ends well.
