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Case Reports
. 2015 Oct 27;2015(10):343-5.
doi: 10.1093/omcr/omv058. eCollection 2015 Oct.

A vicious cycle of acute catecholamine cardiomyopathy and circulatory collapse secondary to pheochromocytoma

Olufisayo Otusanya  1 , Harmeen Goraya  1 , Priyanka Iyer  1 , Kristen Landi  2 , Amit Tibb  1 , Pavlos Msaouel  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A vicious cycle of acute catecholamine cardiomyopathy and circulatory collapse secondary to pheochromocytoma

Olufisayo Otusanya et al. Oxf Med Case Reports. .

Abstract

Acute catecholamine cardiomyopathy is an uncommon, life-threatening manifestation of pheochromocytoma. The massive release of catecholamines from the adrenal medulla and their toxic effects on the coronary vessels and the cardiac myocytes play a significant role in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy in patients with pheochromocytoma. Severe manifestations, such as acute catecholamine cardiomyopathy, may be the initial presentation, especially in unsuspected and untreated pheochromocytoma cases. The clinical course of catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy is unpredictable as patients may rapidly deteriorate into circulatory collapse and multisystem crisis. We report a case of a 25-year-old man who presented with catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
The patient's admission EKG.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Echocardiographic parasternal long-axis view and two-chamber view of the patient's heart in systole (A and B, respectively) and in diastole (C and D, respectively).
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
The patient's right and left adrenal glands, respectively (image not to scale).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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