Myocardial bridging in a young patient with sudden death

Abstract

Systolic compression of a coronary artery is considered to be a benign phenomenon, although numerous case reports have suggested an association between bridging and sudden death or ischemia in certain patients without other abnormalities on cardiovascular evaluation. We present the case of a young patient with two episodes of spontaneous ventricular fibrillation and electrocardiographic evidence of ischemia, whose only primary abnormality on extensive workup was a long segment of left anterior descending systolic compression. This case adds to the growing body of anecdotal evidence that myocardial bridging may be associated with significant cardiac events.