Luther et al. Journal of Medical Case Reports 2011, 5:408 http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/5/1/408 Page 3 of 3 Figure 3 Electrocardiogram showing ST elevation in V1 to V4 leads. few case reports demonstrating success through coron- ary embolectomy [15]. Conclusions This case report presents a common condition seen in an uncommon setting. AMI is common, and the man- agement is well defined and performed by acute physi- cians and cardiologists. However, in the absence of risk factors for ischaemic heart disease, clinicians need to consider alternate causes of AMI. This is especially important in the case of septic cor- onary embolisation in patients with IE, as adopting the current strategies used in the management of myocar- dial infarction can be dangerous. Where suspicion is high, care should be urgently transferred to specialist cardiac centers where both interventional and surgical skills are available to decide on how best to proceed. Consent Written informed consent was obtained from the patient’s next-of-kin for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal. Author details 1Department of Medicine, Whittington Hospital NHS Trust, Magdala Avenue, London, N19 5NF, UK. 2Department of Cardiology, The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre, Nethermayne, Basildon, Essex, UK, SS16 5NL, UK. Authors’ contributions VL wrote the initial draft of the case report. RS edited the case report and selected all the images to use. RG was our patient’s consultant. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Received: 11 April 2011 Accepted: 24 August 2011 Published: 24 August 2011 References 1. Rozenman Y, Rosenheck S, Nassar H, Welber S, Sapoznikov D, Lotan C, Mosseri M, Weiss AT, Gotsman MS: Acute myocardial infarction–the angiographic picture: new insights into the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction. Int J Cardiol 1995, 49:s11-6. 2. Virmani R, Farb A, Burke AP: Risk factors in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease. Compr Ther 1998, 24:519-529. 3. Cohen M: High-risk acute coronary syndrome patients with non-ST- elevation myocardial infarction: definition and treatment. Cardiovasc Drugs Ther 2008, 22:407-418. 4. Kraus PA, Lipman J: Coronary embolism causing myocardial infarction. Intensive Care Med 1990, 16:215-216. 5. Fabri J Jr, Issa VS, Pomerantzeff PM, Grinberg M, Barretto AC, Mansur AJ: Time-related distribution, risk factors and prognostic influence of embolism in patients with left-sided infective endocarditis. Int J Cardiol 2006, 110:334-339. 6. Sanfilippo AJ, Picard MH, Newell JB, Rosas E, Davidoff R, Thomas JD, Weyman AE: Echocardiographic assessment of patients with infectious endocarditis: prediction of risk for complications. J Am Coll Cardiol 1991, 18:1191-1199. 7. Quinn EG, Fergusson DJG: Coronary embolism following aortic and mitral valve replacement: successful management with abciximab and urokinase. Cathet Cardiovasc Diagn 1998, 43:457-459. 8. Kiernan TJ, Flynn AMO, Kearney P: Coronary embolism causing myocardial infarction in a patient with mechanical aortic valve prosthesis. Int J Cardiol 2006, 112:E14-E16. 9. Glazier JJ: Interventional treatment of septic coronary embolism: Sailing into uncharted and dangerous waters. J Interv Cardiol 2002, 15:305-307. 10. Hunter AJ, Girard DE: Thrombolytics in infectious endocarditis associated myocardial infarction. J Emerg Med 2001, 21:401-406. 11. Herzog CA, Henry TD, Zimmer SD: Bacterial endocarditis presenting as acute myocardial infarction: a cautionary note for the era of reperfusion. Am J Med 1991, 90:392-397. 12. Dieter RS: Coronary artery stent infection. Clin Cardiol 2000, 23:800-810. 13. Ural E, Bildirici U, Kahraman G, Komsuoğlu B: Coronary embolism complicating aortic valve endocarditis: treatment with successful coronary angioplasty. Int J Cardiol 2007, 119:377-379. 14. Chopra T, Kaatz GW: Treatment strategies for infective endocarditis. Exp Opin Pharmacother 2010, 11:345-360. 15. Baek MJ, Kim HK, Yu CW, Na CY: Mitral valve surgery with surgical embolectomy for mitral valve endocarditis complicated by septic coronary embolism. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2008, 33:116-118. doi:10.1186/1752-1947-5-408 Cite this article as: Luther et al.: Chest pain with ST segment elevation in a patient with prosthetic aortic valve infective endocarditis: a case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports 2011 5:408.