Essential thrombocythemia: A case of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a young female

Abstract

Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a clonal disorder of themyeloid stemcell that causes abnormal proliferation of the megakaryocytes. The main feature of the disease is arterial and venous thrombosis caused by platelet dysfunction. Coronary artery involvement leading to acute coronary syndromes is a rare complication of the ET. We report a coronary angioplasty and stenting in a 30-year-old female patient with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI) as the first clinical sign of essential thrombocythemia. Facilitated percutaneous coronary intervention with GPIIb/IIIa and/or thrombolytic therapy may be considered as the first treatment modality for this patient group. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.