Headache: A Symptom of Acute Myocardial Infarction

In September 2011, a 55 year old active man, ex-smoker with previous history of squamous cell cancer of the lung, presented to the hospital with frontal headache of > 12 hours duration and low grade fever. Headache was severe and not accompanied by nausea, vomiting or sensitivity to light. His lung cancer was treated with surgery and radiation therapy, which was completed in 2010. His treatment was complicated by post radiation pneumonitis. He was very active, bicycling regularly up to 10 miles, three times per week. His main reason for hospital visit was headache, but on arrival he also reported atypical right sided pleuritic chest pain, which was attributed to his radiation pneumonitis.