2003 Volume 26 Issue 5 Pages 433-437
We report two cases of pheochromocytoma combined with tetralogy of Fallot who showed different clinical courses. Case 1 was a 45-year-old woman with a history of radical operation for tetralogy of Fallot at 20 years of age. She presented with sudden hypertensive attack, and was diagnosed with pheochromocytoma of the left adrenal gland. She was treated surgically, and her high plasma noradrenaline level normalized. Case 2 was a 41-year-old woman who had been suffering from severe cyanosis due to tetralogy of Fallot throughout her life. A palliative operation had been performed at 7 years of age, but a radical operation had not been performed. She has had resistant hypertension since 38 years of age. She was diagnosed as having pheochromocytoma of the left adrenal gland at 41 years of age, but surgery was not performed. She was pharmacologically treated with doxazosin, followed by bisoprolol. Her symptoms somewhat improved, although she continued to have high plasma levels of noradrenaline and adrenomedullin. The combination of pheochromocytoma with tetralogy of Fallot or cyanotic congenital heart disease is rare; however, pheochromocytoma and congenital heart disease might be related through chronic hypoxia and/or gene abnormalities. The presence of pheochromocytoma worsens the hemodynamic state in patients with congenital heart disease regardless of whether radical surgery for congenital heart disease had been performed. Differential diagnosis of pheochromocytoma could be paramount in congenital heart disease patients who show unexpected or unusual symptoms. (Hypertens Res 2003; 26: 433-437)
