Acute myocardial infarction due to septic coronary embolism.

To the Editor: Lanza et al. (Sept. 30 issue)1 described a case of acute myocardial infarction due to a coronary embolus arising from a left ventricular thrombus. We report a case of myocardial infarction that was fatal, despite fibrinolytic therapy, and that arose from the embolism of bacterial vegetation in a woman with no known coronary risk factors and incompletely treated infective endocarditis. Postmortem examination revealed a bacteria-laden embolus in a major epicardial artery and an intraparenchymal cerebellar hemorrhage. A 54-year-old woman, who was an intravenous drug abuser, was admitted with a four-week history of fever and interrupted treatment for . . .