A 16-year-old boy with bronchial asthma and prinzmetal angina: case report.

INTRODUCTION

Prinzmetal's angina is a very rare disease in children and adolescents. Adults' studies suggest that vasospastic angina is more common in patients with bronchial asthma than in the general population.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 16-year-old boy with a history of bronchial asthma was admitted to the hospital after successful resuscitation from asystole. On the day of admission, he had a severe left shoulder pain and developed cardiac arrest. He was complaining of left shoulder pain throughout the previous year. During his hospital stay, a second cardiac arrest took place with inferior ST elevation of the electrocardiography recorded after the second successful resuscitation. Diagnostic coronary angiography revealed multiple spasms throughout the coronary bed, which was completely resolved after intracoronary nitroglycerine administration. The patient was diagnosed Printzmetal's vasospasic angina, and the symptoms disappeared gradually with up-titration of a calcium channel blocker and a nitrate.

DISCUSSION

Previous studies have suggested that the pathogenesis of Prinzmetal's vasospastic angina may be similar to that of bronchial asthma, as we see in the presentation of this young patient.