PHAEOCHROMOCYTOMA PRESENTING AS DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY

SUMMARY Phaeochromocytomas are rare endocrine tumours that secrete excessive amounts of catecholamines and can lead to myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. We report a 63‐year‐old man with long‐standing hypertension and diabetes who presented with dilated cardiomyopathy, which was initially thought to be secondary to ischaemic heart disease. Subsequent coronary angiography was normal. Carvedilol therapy unmasked the characteristic features of phaeochromocytoma. Surgical resection of a right adrenal tumour cured his symptoms, hypertension and diabetes, as well as causing a substantial improvement in cardiac function. Phaeochromocytoma should be considered as a rare cause of dilated cardiomyopathy of uncertain aetiology.