Cardiac arrest following use of sumatriptan.

I report a 35-year-old woman with occult coronary artery disease who experienced cardiac arrest within minutes after receiving a first-time dose of subcutaneous sumatriptan for migraine. The patient was resuscitated, and subsequent serial cardiac enzymes indicated myocardial infarction. Because sumatriptan can cause coronary artery vasospasm, patients with significant risk factors for coronary artery disease should be carefully evaluated for cardiovascular disease prior to the use of sumatriptan.