High-Voltage Electrical Injury Presenting with ST-Segment Elevation and Transient Myocardial Dysfunction without Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease.
Electrical injury may cause various cardiac complications, including electrocardiographic (ECG) changes that mimic acute myocardial infarction. We present a 38-year-old man who developed cardiopulmonary arrest after exposure to a 25,000-volt electrical current. The admission ECG showed inferolateral ST-segment elevation, raising suspicion for acute myocardial infarction. Cardiac biomarkers were markedly elevated, and transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 35% with inferoposterolateral wall hypokinesia accompanied by moderate mitral regurgitation. Emergency coronary angiography demonstrated no significant obstructive coronary artery disease. The post-coronary angiography ECG showed greater than 50% resolution of the ST-segment elevation. A 24-hour follow-up ECG demonstrated near-complete resolution of the ST-segment abnormalities, while repeat echocardiography showed complete recovery of left ventricular systolic function, resolution of the previously detected regional wall motion abnormalities, and regression of mitral regurgitation to a trivial degree. Although ventricular function normalized within 24 hours, the patient subsequently developed dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury, neurological deterioration, suspected pneumonia, and refractory septic shock and died on hospital day 10. This case highlights that high-voltage electrical injury may present with ST-segment elevation despite the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease, accompanied by reversible myocardial dysfunction, emphasizing the importance of considering ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) mimics in the differential diagnosis.
Authors
- Yeşim Akın (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1238-7439)
- Muhammed Erzurum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0911-1271)
- Kerem Oz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9098-7328)
- Vedat Erdinc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1838-8162)
- Tuğba Kapanşahin
Institutions
- Karabük University (TR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PubMed
- Published
- 2026-09-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5543/tkda.2026.39528
- Primary Topic
- Burn Injury Management and Outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00