Ventricular fibrillation secondary to ergotamine in a healthy young woman.

A 34-year-old woman collapsed secondary to ventricular fibrillation 3 hours following the ingestion of ergotamine tartrate for migraine. She underwent defibrillation and recovered rapidly without any subsequent consequences. The mechanism of action and the side effects of ergotamine and other antimigraine drugs are discussed. We hypothesize that a coronary spasm induced by ergotamine could be the aetiologic factor leading to ischaemic ventricular fibrillation.