Key result
Undiagnosed pheochromocytoma causes fatal acute myocarditis in a 31-year-old postpartum female without significant hypertension.
Why the study?
Pheochromocytomas cause excessive adrenergic stimulation leading to rare but life-threatening cardiovascular complications that require increased awareness for diagnosis and management.
Case Report (n=1)
Highlights the potential for pheochromocytoma to cause rapidly fatal catecholamine-induced cardiotoxicity even without significant blood pressure elevation.
Pheochromocytoma may underlie postpartum sudden death; leaves open targeted peripartum screening strategies.
Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are catecholamine-secreting tumors characterized by excessive adrenergic stimulation. Common manifestations include hypertension, headache, sweating, and palpitations; however, rare life-threatening conditions have also been reported and include cardiovascular shock, myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, and cardiomyopathy. We report a case of a previously healthy 31-year-old postpartum female presenting with headache who died suddenly in an emergency room. Autopsy revealed a pheochromocytoma of the right adrenal with significantly elevated metanephrine concentrations and acute "myocarditis." Sudden excessive catecholamine release can cause cardiovascular complications and be rapidly fatal without significant elevation of blood pressure. Awareness of this association by the medical examiner/coroner is vital in order to properly classify the death and apprise relatives of the potential utility of genetic screening.
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Wang et al. (2016) conducted a case report in Pheochromocytoma (n=1). Pheochromocytoma was evaluated on Autopsy findings. Sudden excessive catecholamine release from an undiagnosed pheochromocytoma caused acute myocarditis and rapid death in a 31-year-old postpartum female without significant blood pressure elevation.
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