2023 Volume 37 Issue 5 Pages 808-814
We present a case of Wellens’ syndrome that was detected at an early stage and treated successfully. A man in his late 60s, with a history of angina and chronic kidney disease, visited our center for an annual medical checkup. An electrocardiogram showed biphasic T-waves in the leads V3-5, which were not seen in his previous records. Although there was no chest pain at the time of his medical checkup, he had become aware of chest pain in the last month. According to these findings, Wellens’ syndrome was suspected, and it was recommended that he consult his doctor as soon as possible. He was admitted to the hospital and coronary angiography conducted revealed a 99% occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. He underwent a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and was successfully revascularized. He progressed favorably after the PCI, and the electrocardiogram normalized after 2 months.
Wellens’ syndrome is a type of unstable angina, characterized by a deep inverted or biphasic T-wave in leads V2-3. These T-wave changes are observed during the chest pain free period. The changes are caused by critical stenosis of the proximal LAD coronary artery and are warning signs of an extensive anterior myocardial infarction. These warning signs should not be overlooked as a nonspecific T-wave change, even in the case of a medical checkup.
This case report underlines the importance of checking medical examinees’ symptoms and comparing present electrocardiograms with previous ones.
