Reversibility of catecholamine-induced dilated cardiomyopathy in a child with a pheochromocytoma

Abstract

Patients with a severe, dilated cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure have a poor prognosis unless a correctable cause can be identified. Even when a cause is found, the degree of reversibility of myocardial injury is uncertain. We describe a 12-year-old child with a pheochromocytoma who had a dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure due to excessive production of catecholamines by the tumor. Because her poor clinical state made surgery too hazardous, she was treated for seven months with the a-adrenergic-receptor antagonist phenoxybenzamine and the tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor α-methylpara-tyrosine (MPT) to decrease her plasma catecholamine levels. With increasing doses of MPT, .