Myocardial damage (myocytolysis) caused by subarachnoid hemorrhage

: A case of subarachnoid hemorrhage complicated by neurogenic pulmonary edema and neurogenic myocardial damage is reported. A 50-year-old woman was admitted following the sudden onset of headache and disturbance of consciousness due to a ruptured internal carotid posterior communicating artery aneurysm on the right side. She showed respiratory failure due to pulmonary edema, which subsequently improved with the mechanical ventilation. After that, she manifested chest distress and hypotensive episode then occurred. An ECG showed QS wave and ST elevation which suggested the presence of inferolateral myocardial damage. Subsequent rises in serum GOT, GPT, LDH and CPK were noticed. CPK-MB and LDH I and V isozyme levels rose. An echo cardiogram showed hypokinesis of the apical half of the left ventricular septum. The patient died on 5th hospital day due to rerupture of the cerebral aneurysm. Autopsy revealed diffuse myocytolysis with coagulation necrosis of the heart muscle without occlusion of coronary arteries. A small hemorrhagic lesion was found in the hypothalamus. We suggested that a hypothalamic lesion due to subarachnoid hemorrhage stimulated the sympathetic nervous system which in turn discharged endogenic catecholamine. This was probably accompanied by vasospasm of the coronary arteries and systemic peripheral arterioles. Furthermore, myocardial oxygen consumption could have been increased by the increase in catecholamine. Finally, it gave rise to neurogenic pulmonary edema and extensive diffuse myocytolysis of the heart occurred.