[Syphilitic mesaortitis]

Abstract

A rise in the incidence of latent and late forms of neuro- and visceral syphilis significantly complicates diagnostics of the disease in patients admitted to emergency medicine clinics. Syphilis is believed to be a cause of roughly 0.5% of all cardiopathies. Late syphilitic lesions of the cardiovascular system (cardiovascular syphilis) occur in 0.25-0.96% patients in need of therapeutic treatment, 93.4% of them present with mesaortitis but its life-time diagnosis is possible only in 10% of the cases. Syphilitic lesions in the aorta are especially well apparent at the points of its branching into coronary arteries of the heart and aortic arch. One of the main consequences of syphilitic aortitis is the narrowing of coronary arteries frequently complicated by atherosclerosis, coronary thrombosis, and the resulting myocardial infarction. Another severe complication of syphilitic aortitis is progressive aortic valve insufficiency (in 25-50% of the patients) related to dilatation of the valve ring affected by inflammation. Some patients develop bacterial endocarditis of the aortic valve. Close localization of the coronary artery junction and the aortic valve account for a combination of aortic valve insufficiency and coronary insufficiency in patients with syphilitic process in the initial part of aorta. A case report is presented.