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Case of pheochromocytoma mimicking MINOCA
  1. Loucia Karatzia and
  2. Rodney De Palma
  1. Cardiology Department, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Loucia Karatzia; loukiaka{at}gmail.com

Abstract

We present a 52-year-old woman who was admitted to the emergency department with a short history of palpitations, sweating and nausea. An electrocardiogram (ECG) that was performed suggested inferolateral ischaemia with a significant troponin rise. The patient underwent an invasive coronary angiogram that showed mild non-obstructive coronary disease. She was thus given a provisional diagnosis of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive arteries (MINOCA), treated as an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and subsequently discharged home. The patient represented within 72 hours with a recurrence of symptoms and a further troponin rise. While on the ward severe recurrent orthostatic hypertensive episodes were noted. Further investigations revealed increased urinary and plasma metanephrines, increased plasma catecholamines and imaging revealed a left adrenal 5.7 cm mass, demonstrating probable pheochromocytoma. The patient was treated with curative surgery. This case highlights the importance of thorough history-taking in patients with atypical symptoms for acute coronary syndrome and diagnosed with MINOCA.

  • hypertension
  • adrenal disorders
  • ischaemic heart disease

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Footnotes

  • Contributors Supervised by RDP. The patient was under the care of RDP. Report was written by LK.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.