PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA PRESENTING ACUTELY AS SEVERE CARDIAC-FAILURE

Phaeochromocytoma is a potentially lethal tumour that is surgically cu rable. It usually presents with hypertension, sweating, palpitations a nd headache. Acute cardiac failure can occur even in the presence of a normal heart due to massive catecholamine release causing impairment of myocardial function. In this case the diagnosis of phaeochromocytom a was only made at autopsy and illustrates the difficulty in diagnosis unless this unusual but potentially curable form of acute myocardial illness is considered in emergency admissions.