Pregnancy-associated myocardial infarction : case report and review of the literature.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a rare, but possibly catastrophic event during pregnancy, delivery, or puerperium, leading to a high mortality rate. It has different pathogenic mechanisms, such as atherosclerosis, vasospasm, thrombosis, and coronary dissection. Although MI has been reported in pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy and postpartum, it occurs more commonly in the third trimester. Pregnancy-associated MI most commonly involves the anterior wall. Pregnancy itself is an independent risk factor for MI, conferring a fourfold higher risk than that of nonpregnant women matched for age. We report the case of a 27-year-old primigravida at 30 weeks' gestation presenting with anterior MI, secondary to severe stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery, treated with emergency percutaneous coronary intervention.