ABSTRACT
The authors describe a young man with protein C deficiency and anterior wall acute myocardial infarction associated with total occlusion of the distal left anterior descending coronary artery in the presence of an otherwise normal coronary arterial tree. They review reported cases of protein C deficiency associated with acute myocardial infarction and coronary angiography. His functional protein C assay was low (45%), but the antigenic level was normal (116 U/dl). Although at least 22 patients with myocardial infarction and protein C deficiency have been reported, 17 did not have coronary angiography at the time of the infarct. The reason why protein C deficiency is not reported more often in patients, particularly young ones, with acute myocardial infarction is unclear but may simply result from the fact that the test is not commonly performed.
