Postpartum spontaneous coronary artery dissection: An important clinical link with anticardiolipin antibody

A 34-year-old woman presented to the Emergency Department with substernal chest pain, 7 days after a normal vaginal delivery. Acute myocardial infarction was diagnosed based on ECG changes and elevated serum troponin levels. Coronary angiography revealed a spontaneous coronary dissection of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. The patient was managed medically and recovered well clinically with healing of the dissection on repeat angiography 10 days later. Of note the patient had a high titre of anticardiolipin antibody (IgM) detected and this is only the second case described in the literature of an association between spontaneous coronary artery dissection and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.