A case of overlap syndrome (scleroderma and polymyositis) associated with the development of sudden chest pain due to myocardial damage

Abstract

Myocardial injury with systemic sclerosis (SSc) causes pericarditis and arrhythmia, and polymyositis-induced muscle inflammation causes myocarditis. We report a rare case of overlap syndrome (SSc and polymyositis) who presented with sudden chest pain secondary to myocardial fibrosis. Although the etiology of chest symptoms in collagen disease was difficult to identify, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed not myocarditis but myocardial fibrosis in our case. Synthetic judgement of serum brain natriuretic peptide/ troponin T levels and cardiac MRI is useful in the search for the cause of chest symptoms even in patients with collagen diseases.