Syphilitic heart - a case report

Abstract

Heart and its great vessels are involved in tertiary syphilis in the form of syphilitic aortitis often 20 years or more after primary infection is contracted. In a 60 year old male cadaver, we found an enlarged heart with aneurysm of ascending aorta and semilunar septa was found protruding in to the lumen of arch of aorta distal to the origin of left subclavian artery. Right pulmonary vessels were dilated. Right and left atrial cavity were dilated, left ventricular hypertrophy with dilatation was noted. Hispathological findings of the specimens were suggestive of syphilitic aortitis. Cardiovascular syphilis though uncommon is still a significant cause of mortality and morbidity, which can be reduced by adequate screening, accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Keywords

• aortitis
• ascending aorta
• arch of aorta
• aneurysm
• periarteritis
• cardiomegaly