Síndrome de Wellens

Abstract

The assessment of chest pain is a routine in emergency health services. Although this is a common complaint with a broad differential diagnosis, the major concern is the possibility of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Electrocardiography and cardiac enzyme levels are important tools in the investigation of these patients; however, negative results may actually be overlooking the identification of some conditions. We report the case of a female patient with angina, whose baseline tests in the emergency room were negative for changes suggestive of ischemic heart disease. The Wellens syndrome, a recently described disease, is a variant of unstable angina which, if not identified, may result in significant morbidity and mortality.