Cardiac CT angiography in the emergency room: Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy presenting as acute coronary syndrome

A 59-year-old male presented to the emergency room with symptoms of chest tightness and palpitations. Following conversion of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm, he had deep symmetrical T-wave changes on his electrocardiogram. Symptoms resolved almost immediately, and his initial troponin was negative. He underwent cardiac CT angiography utilizing an emergency room triage protocol which resulted in a diagnosis of nonobstructive coronary artery disease and apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Following a hospital stay of less than 24 hours, he was discharged to outpatient follow-up on medical management and has remained asymptomatic over 6 months. This case presentation illustrates an example of the diversity of pathology that presents in emergency rooms with symptoms consistent with acute coronary syndrome.