Cardiac and great vessel involvement in "Behcet's disease"

J Card Surg. 2008 Nov-Dec;23(6):765-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-8191.2008.00607.x.

Abstract

Behcet's disease is a multisystem disorder and classified as "vasculitic syndrome with a wide variety of clinical manifestations." Cardiac involvement is very rare but can occur with different presentations including: pericarditis, cardiomyopathy, endocarditis, endomyocardial fibrosis, intracavitary thrombosis, and coronary artery disease. Great vessel involvement is more common. Recurrent Phlebitis, commonly involving large vessels (superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, hepatic veins) and cerebral veins are the sole presentation in this regard. Arterial involvement is expressed by aneurysm or pseudoaneurysmal formation. Due to the wide variety of cardiovascular manifestations and the resulting high mortality, cardiac surgeons should be familiar with this disease. In this paper we review the articles and introduce our four cases presenting with aneurysm of ascending aorta with free aortic insufficiency, aneurysm of descending aorta, pulmonary artery aneurysm, and pseudoaneurysm of aortic arch.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aneurysm / etiology*
  • Aneurysm / surgery
  • Aneurysm, False / pathology
  • Aneurysm, False / surgery
  • Aortic Aneurysm / etiology
  • Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / etiology
  • Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / etiology
  • Behcet Syndrome / complications*
  • Behcet Syndrome / diagnosis
  • Behcet Syndrome / physiopathology
  • Behcet Syndrome / surgery
  • Cardiac Surgical Procedures
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / etiology*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / mortality
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / surgery
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pulmonary Artery / pathology