Sudden Cardiac Arrest: A Rare Clinical Presentation of Primary Aldosteronism

Francisco F Costa Filho; Thomaz A Costa; Alan Furlan; Glenda A de Sa; Madson Q Almeida; Germano E Conceicao-Souza

doi:10.7759/cureus.42664

Sudden Cardiac Arrest: A Rare Clinical Presentation of Primary Aldosteronism

Cureus. 2023 Jul 29;15(7):e42664. doi: 10.7759/cureus.42664. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Authors

Francisco F Costa Filho¹, Thomaz A Costa², Alan Furlan¹, Glenda A de Sa³, Madson Q Almeida⁴, Germano E Conceicao-Souza³

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, USA.
² School of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, BRA.
³ Cardiology, Hospital Regional de Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Jose dos Campos, BRA.
⁴ Endocrinology and Metabology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, BRA.

Abstract

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) may be related to reversible causes in up to 50% of cases, such as electrolyte imbalances. Primary aldosteronism (PA) is characterized by excessive autonomic aldosterone production and can present with hypokalemia. We present an uncommon case of a 36-year-old woman who was diagnosed with PA after two episodes of ventricular fibrillation, secondary to severe hypokalemia.

Keywords: adrenal adenoma; hypokalemia; primary aldosteronism; sudden cardiac arrest; ventricular fibrillation.

Publication types

Case Reports