Hemopericardium Due to Idiopathic Coronary Artery Rupture Treated with Saphenous Vein Patch Plasty

• Main Authors: Benedikt Mayr, Stefan Buchholz, Christian Hagl, Maximilian Pichlmaier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Georg Thieme Verlag KG 2016-02-01
• Series: The Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgeon Reports
• Subjects: cardiovascular surgery; heart disease; artery/arteries (includes all peripheral arteries)
• Online Access: http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0035-1564586

Abstract We report a case of an idiopathic coronary artery rupture in a 41-year-old male patient who was admitted to the hospital with cardiac tamponade. On opening the chest via a median sternotomy and establishing cardiopulmonary bypass the hemopericardium's cause could be identified as a perforation of the right posterior descending coronary artery which was treated with a saphenous vein patch plasty. With idiopathic coronary artery rupture being a rare diagnosis, one should always consider it in a young patient presenting with cardiac tamponade.