An Unusual Etiology of Severe Right Heart Failure Deserving of Wider Recognition

Woosun Kang; Yu Zong; Dhruvil Ashishkumar Patel; Tushar Mishra; Luis Afonso

doi:10.1016/j.jaccas.2024.102222

An Unusual Etiology of Severe Right Heart Failure Deserving of Wider Recognition

JACC Case Rep. 2024 Jan 31;29(5):102222. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccas.2024.102222. eCollection 2024 Mar 6.

Authors

Woosun Kang¹, Yu Zong², Dhruvil Ashishkumar Patel³, Tushar Mishra¹, Luis Afonso¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
³ Department of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Abstract

A previously healthy 31-year-old man presented with worsening shortness of breath and a petechial rash. Echocardiography showed severe right-sided heart failure with midsystolic notching of the antegrade right ventricular outflow Doppler envelope suggesting pulmonary hypertension. An extensive work-up revealed scurvy, with a dramatic resolution of symptoms shortly after vitamin C supplementation.

Keywords: pulmonary hypertension; right-sided heart failure; scurvy; vitamin C deficiency.

Publication types

Case Reports