Acute dyspnea in a young man with an old sternotomy

Abstract

Described is a 42-year-old man with complex congenital heart disease with single-ventricle physiology who underwent a Fontan operation at 27 years of age. He presented with sudden-onset chest pain and dyspnea and was initially misdiagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. This case is described in order to highlight the challenges in the evaluation of common presentations in adults with congenital heart disease.