STEMI could be the primary presentation of acute aortic dissection.

Background: Stanford type A aortic dissection (TAAD) may lead to coronaiy arteiy occlusion and malfunction. However, TAAD manifesting as acute ST-segment elevalion myocardial infarction (STEMI) has not been studied. In the present study, we reported 8 TAAD cases with STEMI as the primary presentation, and analyzed their clinical characteristics and outcome.& para;& para;Methods: The records were reviewed for patients admitted to the large comprehensive university hospital for PCI due to STEMI from January 1,2002 to January 1, 2017.& para;& para;Results: The incidence of STEMI secondary to TAAD in our center was 0.51% (8/1,576). A total of 5 patients underwent urgent coronary angiography (CAG) without awareness of TAAD. Compression at the ostium of right coronary artery (RCA) was found in 2 patients, dissected flap of RCA in 1 patient, and heterogeneous filling and false lumen in RCA in 1 patient. Three of these 5 patients received surgeiy and survived. One patient accepted urgent RCA stenting because of cardiogenic shock and died after refusal of surgical therapy and failure of medical treatment. Another 2 patients received thrombolytic therapy died prior to CAG. Thus, the total in-hospital mortality was 37.5% (3/8).& para;& para;Conclusions: TAAD presenting as STEMI was a rare condition that predominantly involved RCA. A quick and correct clinical diagnosis of STEMI caused by TAAD prior to invasive procedure would be important. Urgent CAG without awareness of TAAD could provide important information for a timely diagnosis. High level of suspicion and awareness is the key to establishing the diagnosis and achieving optimal clinical outcome. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.