Acute myocardial infarction as the first manifestation of paraganglioma

Abstract

Paragangliomas (PGLs) are extra-adrenal neuroendocrine tumors, classified as sympathetic or parasympathetic according to their origin in the paraganglia of the autonomic nervous system. Sympathetic PGLs are mostly functional, presenting in a variable and non-specific way. We report a case of PGL, which was diagnosed following investigation of acute myocardial infarction in a postpartum woman, highlighting that the absence of typical symptoms may delay the diagnosis.

Keywords

• Paraganglioma
• acute myocardial infarction
• catecholamines.