Archive · 14 Sep 2026
Doctors Find Sewing Needle Embedded in Man's Beating Heart
A man in China went to the hospital because urinating hurt and there was blood in his urine.
Doctors used scans to look inside his body.
They found several metal objects, including sewing needles.
The most dangerous needle was 36 millimeters long and was stuck partly inside his heart.
His heart was still working normally, even though the needle moved with each heartbeat.
Doctors worried it could damage the heart or cause serious bleeding.
They removed the heart needle and other needles from his bladder.
The man recovered after treatment.
Doctors could not find out exactly how the needles got inside his body.
A 35-year-old man in China sought treatment for painful urination and blood in his urine.
CT scans revealed metallic objects in several locations, including the bladder, pelvis, abdomen and penis.
A 36-millimeter sewing needle had pierced the heart’s protective sac and entered the left ventricle.
Doctors removed the heart needle first because it could have caused rupture, severe bleeding or infection.
The patient recovered, but doctors could not determine how the needles entered his body.
- Who
- A 35-year-old man with an intellectual disability, treated by doctors at Hunan Provincial People's Hospital.
- What
- Doctors discovered and removed a 36-millimeter sewing needle embedded partly in his heart, along with other metallic objects in his body.
- When
- The case was reported in a case report published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders; the article does not provide the treatment date.
- Where
- Hunan Provincial People's Hospital in China.
- Why
- The man sought medical care for painful urination and blood in his urine; doctors removed the heart needle because it could cause rupture, bleeding or infection.
- Patient
- 35-year-old man with an intellectual disability
- Initial symptoms
- Painful urination and haematuria, or blood in the urine
- Heart needle
- 36 millimeters long, with its tip extending into the left ventricle
- Other locations
- Metallic objects were found in the abdominal wall, pelvis, bladder, hip bone, hip muscle and penis
- Treatment
- Doctors removed the cardiac foreign body first, followed by needles found in the bladder
- Outcome
- The patient recovered well after treatment
- Unresolved question
- The patient and his family could not explain how the needles entered his body
- Reported rarity
- A 2024 review identified 34 reported cases of needles deliberately inserted into the heart as self-harm since 1967