[Myocardial damage following lightning injury].

In a 27-year-old woman, struck by lightning behind the left ear, the ECG showed signs of an acute posterior-lateral myocardial infarction after 1 h of unconsciousness and loss of memory. Her serum enzymes were increased as is typical of myocardial infarction, but the patient did not complain of cardiac symptoms. Besides clear signs of lightning injury, the patient showed a hemorrhage throughout the left breast and transient pericardial effusion was observed by echocardiography. In the course of two months, the ECG revealed a regression to unspecific ST-T-deviations and serum enzymes became normal. TI-201-myocardial-scintigraphy (SPECT), done six days and two months after lightning injury, excluded reversible and irreversible perfusion defects.