Spontaneous coronary artery dissection historical perspective

The first case of spontaneous coronary artery dissection was described by Pretty in 1931. In the post-morterm examination, heart muscle and valve appeared normal, and there was extensive hemorrhage between aorta and pulmonary artery secondary to coronary artery rupture presumably during the sudden and violent retching attack.

• Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) was first described by Pretty in 1931 in which a 42-year-old woman presented with nausea and chest pain died unexpectedly due to rupture of a dissecting atheromatous aneurysm in the right coronary artery following repetitive retching and vomiting.
• In the post-morterm examination, heart muscle and valve appeared normal, and there was extensive hemorrhage between aorta and pulmonary artery secondary to coronary artery rupture presumably during the sudden and violent retching attack.^[1]
• Since then, more than 1,500 cases of SCAD have been reported in the English literature.