Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing Polychondritis

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by relapsing and remitting inflammation of the cartilaginous structures of the ears, nose, tracheobronchial tree, and joints. Diagnosis is challenging due to the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations, the relapsing and r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Heather Bukiri, Steven M. Ruhoy, Jane H. Buckner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Rheumatology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/5620471
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849306998075555840
author Heather Bukiri
Steven M. Ruhoy
Jane H. Buckner
author_facet Heather Bukiri
Steven M. Ruhoy
Jane H. Buckner
author_sort Heather Bukiri
collection DOAJ
description Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by relapsing and remitting inflammation of the cartilaginous structures of the ears, nose, tracheobronchial tree, and joints. Diagnosis is challenging due to the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations, the relapsing and remitting nature of the disease, the presence of coexistent diseases in at least one-third of patients, and the lack of a diagnostic blood test. Although RP-associated cardiac disease is the second most common cause of death behind tracheobronchial complications, coronary artery vasculitis is rare. This report describes a case of sudden cardiac death due to vasculitis affecting the coronary arteries in a patient with RP. The pathologic findings included obliterative coronary arteritis with plasma cells and storiform fibrosis, features suggesting that IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) may have contributed to the patient’s cardiac disease. The literature on vasculitis and cardiac disease in RP and the possible role of IgG4-RD in this setting is also reviewed. The primary take-home message from this case report is the importance of frequent screening for cardiac disease, regardless of symptoms, in patients with RP. In addition, considering the diagnosis of IgG4-RD in some cases thought to be RP may also be warranted.
format Article
id doaj-art-2542e9e8e63e4bff87af683323c6a84c
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-6889
2090-6897
language English
publishDate 2020-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Case Reports in Rheumatology
spelling doaj-art-2542e9e8e63e4bff87af683323c6a84c2025-08-20T03:54:52ZengWileyCase Reports in Rheumatology2090-68892090-68972020-01-01202010.1155/2020/56204715620471Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing PolychondritisHeather Bukiri0Steven M. Ruhoy1Jane H. Buckner2Department of Rheumatology, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USADepartment of Pathology, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USADepartment of Rheumatology, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USARelapsing polychondritis (RP) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by relapsing and remitting inflammation of the cartilaginous structures of the ears, nose, tracheobronchial tree, and joints. Diagnosis is challenging due to the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations, the relapsing and remitting nature of the disease, the presence of coexistent diseases in at least one-third of patients, and the lack of a diagnostic blood test. Although RP-associated cardiac disease is the second most common cause of death behind tracheobronchial complications, coronary artery vasculitis is rare. This report describes a case of sudden cardiac death due to vasculitis affecting the coronary arteries in a patient with RP. The pathologic findings included obliterative coronary arteritis with plasma cells and storiform fibrosis, features suggesting that IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) may have contributed to the patient’s cardiac disease. The literature on vasculitis and cardiac disease in RP and the possible role of IgG4-RD in this setting is also reviewed. The primary take-home message from this case report is the importance of frequent screening for cardiac disease, regardless of symptoms, in patients with RP. In addition, considering the diagnosis of IgG4-RD in some cases thought to be RP may also be warranted.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/5620471
spellingShingle Heather Bukiri
Steven M. Ruhoy
Jane H. Buckner
Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing Polychondritis
Case Reports in Rheumatology
title Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing Polychondritis
title_full Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing Polychondritis
title_fullStr Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing Polychondritis
title_full_unstemmed Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing Polychondritis
title_short Sudden Cardiac Death due to Coronary Artery Vasculitis in a Patient with Relapsing Polychondritis
title_sort sudden cardiac death due to coronary artery vasculitis in a patient with relapsing polychondritis
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/5620471
work_keys_str_mv AT heatherbukiri suddencardiacdeathduetocoronaryarteryvasculitisinapatientwithrelapsingpolychondritis
AT stevenmruhoy suddencardiacdeathduetocoronaryarteryvasculitisinapatientwithrelapsingpolychondritis
AT janehbuckner suddencardiacdeathduetocoronaryarteryvasculitisinapatientwithrelapsingpolychondritis