Acute myocardial infarction after bone marrow transplantation: an unsuspected late complication

Acute myocardial infarction is a common disease rarely seen as a complication of bone marrow transplantation in young patients. We report on a 25-year-old patient 3.5 years after bone marrow transplantation who suffered an acute anterior wall myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock. The patient was treated with thrombolysis and emergent coronary angioplasty but died a few hours following admission. We suggest that the combination of low-dose chest irradiation and prolonged immunosuppression with graft-versus-host disease contributed to the development of the coronary artery disease in this patient. Though rarely encountered, physicians caring for young patients after bone marrow transplantation should be aware of potential ischemic complications.