Imaging of post-traumatic cardiac rhabdomyolysis with normal coronary arteries

Numerous cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have been reported in the literature following closed chest injuries, due to post-traumatic dissection or thrombosis of a coronary artery. In the follow-up of AMI, wall thickness during diastole and systole provides important information on heart viability. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is currently the only noninvasive instrumental investigation which provides an appreciable assessment of the coronary arteries, as well as heart wall thickness measurements. We describe and discuss the clinical and imaging findings, especially of MDCT, in a case of post-traumatic regional myocardial necrosis with normal coronary arteries.