A case of thyroid storm with cardiac arrest

Yutaka Nakashima,1 Tsuneaki Kenzaka,2 Masanobu Okayama,3 Eiji Kajii31Department for Support of Rural Medicine, Yamaguchi Grand Medical Center, 2Division of General Medicine, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Japan; 3Division of Community and Family Medicine, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, JapanAbstract: A 23-year-old man became unconscious while jogging. He immediately received basic life support from a bystander and was transported to our hospital. On arrival, his spontaneous circulation had returned from a state of ventricular fibrillation and pulseless electrical activity. Following admission, hyperthyroidism led to a suspicion of thyroid storm, which was then diagnosed as a possible cause of the cardiac arrest. Although hyperthyroidism-induced cardiac arrest including ventricular fibrillation is rare, it should be considered when diagnosing the cause of treatable cardiac arrest.Keywords: hyperthyroidism, ventricular fibrillation, treatable cardiac arrest, cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary arres