Ma BS, Zhai SH, Chen WW, Zhao QN. Cardiac hypertrophy in polycythemia vera: A case report and review of literature. World J Cardiol 2024; 16(11): 651-659 [DOI: 10.4330/wjc.v16.i11.651]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Wei-Wei Chen, MD, Attending Doctor, Department of Cardiology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, No. 126 Xiantai Street, Changchun 130031, Jilin Province, China. chenweiwei@jlu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Bai-Sheng Ma, Shu-Hui Zhai, Wei-Wei Chen, Qi-Ni Zhao, Department of Cardiology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130031, Jilin Province, China
Bai-Sheng Ma, Shu-Hui Zhai, Wei-Wei Chen, Qi-Ni Zhao, Department of Cardiology, Jilin Provincial Cardiovascular Research Institute, Changchun 130031, Jilin Province, China
Bai-Sheng Ma, Shu-Hui Zhai, Wei-Wei Chen, Qi-Ni Zhao, Department of Cardiology, Jilin Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Endothelial Function and Genetic Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Disease, Changchun 130031, Jilin Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Wei-Wei Chen and Qi-Ni Zhao.
Author contributions: Ma BS wrote the first draft and corrected the manuscript; Ma BS and Zhai SH collected the data; Chen WW and Zhao QN revised and contributed equally to the manuscript and figures as co-corresponding authors; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported byJilin Province Health Research Talent Special Project, No. 2020SCZ27.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei-Wei Chen, MD, Attending Doctor, Department of Cardiology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, No. 126 Xiantai Street, Changchun 130031, Jilin Province, China. chenweiwei@jlu.edu.cn
Received: July 28, 2024 Revised: September 1, 2024 Accepted: October 8, 2024 Published online: November 26, 2024 Processing time: 94 Days and 17.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The combination of polycythemia vera (PV) with pathological cardiac hypertrophy is uncommon. In this study, we describe a case of PV accompanied by pathological cardiac hypertrophy. It is hypothesized that the pronounced cardiac hypertrophy in this patient has a strong connection with PV.
CASE SUMMARY
In 2021, a 34-year-old Chinese man experienced chest constriction, shortness of breath, and palpitations during vigorous activity. Each episode lasted several minutes and resolved spontaneously following cessation of vigorous activity. He occasionally experienced syncope and vertigo without a headache. He underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and was diagnosed with “hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)”. He was discharged after receiving symptomatic treatment, which resulted in an improvement. He presented to our department with chest constriction, shortness of breath, and respiratory distress for one month while climbing to the second floor in 2023. His blood pressure was 180/100 mmHg at the time of admittance, and he was receiving antihypertensive treatment. He had a history of PV for 2 years without treatment. Symptomatic treatment was implemented concurrently with the administration of hydroxyurea upon admission. Good blood pressure control was observed during the long-term follow-up, and echocardiography did not reveal any progression of myocardial hypertrophy.
CONCLUSION
Clinicians managing PV patients should remain highly vigilant regarding the risks of thrombosis and cardiovascular complications, particularly in those with refractory hypertension.
Core Tip: Clinicians should be highly vigilant regarding the risk of thrombosis and cardiovascular complications when managing patients with polycythemia vera (PV). In young patients with hypertension, who have excluded common secondary causes and have difficult-to-control blood pressure, there should be an alert for PV. The coexistence of PV and myocardial hypertrophy is rarely reported. The myocardial hypertrophy observed in this case, which is difficult to explain for other reasons, proposes a new hypothesis that PV may be a potential trigger. Cytoreductive therapy may be an important factor in improving the patient’s myocardial hypertrophy.
