A patient with pheochromocytoma may have a myocarditis or cardiomyopathy secondary to the catecholamine secretion. Cardiac involvement may be the reason for presentation.
The patient may present with:
(1) heart failure
(2) cardiogenic shock
(3) heart attack
(4) sudden cardiac arrest
(5) cardiac arrhythmias
(6) myocarditis
These tend to stand out in a younger patient but not in an older adult.
Severe or persistent hypertension may be associated with hypertensive damage to the heart with ventricular hypertrophy.
Diagnosis requires:
(1) confirmation of a pheochromocytoma with elevated plasma catecholamines
(2) exclusion of other diagnoses
(3) variable improvement following resesction of the pheochromocytoma depending on the severity of cardiac involvement
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