Abstract
BackgroundCardiovascular manifestations associated with Addison’s disease are previously documented. We described a case of an 11-year-old girl who developed dilated cardiomyopathy as a complication to Addison’s disease. Glucocorticoid replacement therapy resulted in near-complete recovery of cardiac function. It is the first reported case of reversible cardiomyopathy as a complication of primary adrenal insufficiency in Syria.Case presentationAn 11-year-old Caucasian girl with no significant past medical history presented with abdominal pain, vomiting after meals, and a low-grade fever. A physical examination and laboratory evaluation suggested primary adrenal insufficiency. An echocardiogram showed changes consistent with dilated cardiomyopathy. Causes of primary adrenal insufficiency other than autoimmune were excluded.ConclusionsDilated cardiomyopathy is a rare complication of primary adrenal insufficiency. Proper treatment of adrenal insufficiency with glucocorticoid replacement therapy resulted in restoration of normal cardiac function.
Highlights
Cardiovascular manifestations associated with Addison’s disease are previously documented
We present a case of adrenal insufficiency in an 11-year-old girl which was complicated with dilated cardiomyopathy
Among 103 children diagnosed as having primary adrenal insufficiency in a single center in Canada during a 20-year period, congenital adrenal hyperplasia was the underlying cause in 74 patients (71.8%), while autoimmune cases accounted for 12.7% [3]
Summary
The case presented here underscores two important issues: the rare cardiac manifestation of Addison disease in the form of dilated cardiomyopathy, and the reversibility of this cardiomyopathy if the underlying disease is treated.
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