Recurrent Cardiac Cephalalgia: A Case Report and Pooled Narrative Review.
Ben J Braunecker, A Laine Green
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
An elderly man with multiple cardiovascular risk factors and prior coronary artery disease treated with percutaneous coronary intervention had progressive exertional headaches over several years, without typical cardiac symptoms. Neurological examination and brain imaging were unremarkable, while SIADH complicated the diagnostic picture. The headaches were attributed to cardiac cephalalgia associated with myocardial ischemia. Symptoms recurred later in the same year after treatment, prompting renewed diagnostic attention.
What made this case unusual
The headache recurred in the same year after treatment, an event the authors describe as exceedingly rare in the reported literature.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
Exertional headache without stereotypical cardiac symptoms can still reflect myocardial ischemia; a normal neurological examination and brain imaging do not exclude a cardiac cause.
Why it matters
Because cardiac cephalalgia may present in isolation and can signal a potentially lethal cardiovascular emergency, careful history-taking and work-up are important.