Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
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A hiccup is involuntary, paroxysmal inspiratory movements of the chest wall associated with diaphragm and accessory respiratory muscle contractions, with the synchronized closure of glottis. The mechanism underlying this common primitive reflex plays an important role in protecting airways against esophageal aspiration. The hiccup reflex mechanism is based on the afferent pathway (vagus and phrenic nerve and sympathetic fibers innervating chest organs, the abdomen, the ear, the nose and the throat stimulation, and the stimulation of hiccup center in the central nervous system, mainly reflecting psychogenic or metabolic disorders) and the efferent pathway (phrenic nerves). ⋯ The most common causes of pathologic symptomatic hiccups are nervous system diseases, either the central nervous system (proliferative, angiogenic, inflammatory disorders), or the peripheral nervous system: the irritation of the phrenic nerve (proliferative disorders, goitre) and the vagus nerve (otolaryngologic diseases, meningitis, esophageal, stomach and duodenal diseases, hepatitis, pancreatitis, enteritis). The vagus nerve irritation with subsequent hiccups may be caused by chest disorders (injury, surgery) and heart diseases (myocardial infarction). In the present paper we describe the case of a 62-year-old male with recurrent hiccups associated with exertion as a secondary symptom of myocardial ischemia.