Phantom Arm Pain and Tinnitus in a Patient with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Case Report.
Clinical practice and cases in emergency medicine · 2026-02-01 · Case report
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: We present the case of a patient with the unusual occurrence of phantom arm pain and an acute exacerbation of chronic tinnitus during an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). CASE REPORT: A 56-year-old man was having several classic symptoms associated with acute coronary syndrome, along with perceived pain in an arm lost years earlier in a traumatic accident and a sudden worsening of his chronic tinnitus. Emergency medical services responded and diagnosed a STEMI on scene. A 100% occlusion of his right coronary artery was rapidly identified in the hospital and treated with the deployment of two drug-eluting stents. After the procedure his symptoms resolved. He was discharged without incident two days later. CONCLUSION: Whereas arm pain is a well-documented presenting symptom of acute coronary syndrome, phantom limb pain and exacerbation of tinnitus have been rarely reported in the literature.