UC Davis

Blunt cardiac injury (BCI), also referred to in the literature as a cardiac contusion, is a known cause of myocardial injury. It is often challenging to diagnose this condition in the absence of clear diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, its clinical presentation is highly variable depending on the severity, type, and duration of the trauma, as well as the timing from the initial insult. The clinical manifestation of BCI ranges from none to fatal arrhythmias to cardiac wall rupture seen on post-mortem examination. Cardiac biomarkers and electrocardiograms (EKG) are usually helpful in identifying cardiac trauma but are not necessarily abnormal in all cases. Falls by slipping on ice are common in the winter, but rarely do people present with a myocardial injury with these mechanical events. We describe the case of a cardiac contusion with an unusual presentation and an unusual cause, whereby both the initial EKG and troponin level were normal, and the patient presented with an atrioventricular (AV) block two weeks after "slipping on ice".