Complications Associated with Pheochromocytoma Essay Example

Complications Associated with Pheochromocytoma

There are many complications related to Pheochromocytoma. There is the need to avoid complications caused by pheochromocytoma by maintaining blood pressure within the optimum (recommended) levels. The most common complications are caused when the blood pressure remains so high or remain untreated. Some of the common complications associated with pheochromocytoma include damage to the nerves of the eye (loss of vision), cerebrovascular, heart failure, kidney failure, acute respiratory distress, infarction and frequency of accidents (MayoClinic.org, 2017). The incidents of accidents are associated with the complications listed. It is worth noting that pheochromocytoma has adverse effects on multiple organs. Of the complications listed, hypertension is the most common complication. Due to excessive plasma catecholamine levels, cardiac arrhythmias like ventricular and atrial fibrillation are likely to occur. Some other complications likely to experience due to pheochromocytoma include dilated cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, pulmonary edema (either of noncardiac or cardiac origin) and signs and symptoms of myocardial infarction.

A pheochromocytoma-induced hypertensive predicament can lead to hypertensive encephalopathy. Some obvious signs of hypertensive encephalopathy include seizures, focal neurologic signs and symptoms and altered mental status. Stroke from cerebral infarction can occur due to neurologic complications. Uncontrolled hypertension may lead to intracerebral hemorrhage (Galetta et al., 2010).

An increase in blood pressure may result in an aneurysm. The artery walls experience a lot of pressure in the process. Excess blood pressure weakness the blood vessels, bulges and or enlarges them. In case the adrenaline level is increased in the blood, an individual suffering from pheochromocytoma is the great danger since there increased blood force against the arteries. As the pressure increases, the left ventricle increases limiting blood floor to the body. The blood vessels are highly likely to rupture leading to hemorrhage or an aneurysm.

References

Galetta, F., Franzoni, F., Bernini, G., Poupak, F., Carpi, A., & Cini, G. et al. (2010). Cardiovascular complications in patients with pheochromocytoma: A mini-review. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 64(7), 505-509. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2009.09.014

MayoClinic.org. (2017). Overview — Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 22 May 2017, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy/home/ovc-20122102