Myocardial infarction in a patient with β‐thalassemia major: First report

Thalassemia is the most common hereditary anemia throughout the world. Survival in its most severe long‐term form, β‐thalassemia major, has significantly risen in the last decades. Cardiac morbidity—heart failure and dysrhythmias—is still the most common cause of mortality in these patients. We describe herein a case of myocardial infarction with normal coronary arteries in a 48‐year‐old patient with β‐thalassemia and no other recognized risk factors for coronary artery disease. Thromboembolic phenomena, a known situation in these patients, occur at a frequency of 4–5%. However, as far as we know, this is the first report in the literature of myocardial infarction in association with β‐thalassemia. With the notable improvement in the life expectancy of thalassemia patients, ischemic heart disease may become an important complication encountered in these patients. Am. J. Hematol. 75:52–55, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.