Abstract
Sudden death following blunt chest trauma is a frightening occurrence known as 'commotio cordis' or 'concussion of the heart'. It is speculated that commotio cordis could be caused by ventricular fibrillation secondary to an impact-induced energy that was transmitted via the chest wall to the myocardium during its vulnerable repolarization period. We describe a survivor of commotio cordis caused by a baseball. In this patient, an initial ventricular fibrillation was documented and converted by direct current defibrillation. Serial electrocardiographic changes (bifascicular conduction block and T wave inversion in precordial leads) were noticed in this patient. Our case suggested that coronary vasospasm might also play a role in commotio cordis. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 124-126 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Cardiology |
Volume | 93 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2000 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
- Pharmacology (medical)