Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health

Penetrating trauma is a rare cause of myocardial infarction. Our report describes a 47- year-old female who presented with a gunshot wound from a shotgun and had an ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The patient received emergent coronary angiography, which demonstrated no evidence of coronary atherosclerotic disease but did show occlusion of a marginal vessel secondary to a pellet. The patient was managed medically for the myocardial infarction without cardiac sequelae. Patients with penetrating trauma to the chest should be evaluated for myocardial ischemia. Electrocardiography, echocardiography and cardiac angiography play vital roles in evaluating these patients and helping to guide management. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(2):224-226.]