Atrial arrhythmias with mediastinal lymphadenopathy presentation of
Isolated atrial myocarditis.
Abstract
Objectives: We present a case series of patients with granulomatous
myocarditis presenting as atrial arrhythmias accompanied by
lymphadenopathy. Background: Atrial myocarditis (AM) may be the cause of
atrial arrhythmias in patients without risk factors for atrial
fibrillation. (AF). Methods: Patients with atrial arrhythmias without
traditional risk factors for AF underwent 18F Fluorodeoxyglucose
positron emission tomography (18F FDG PET). We performed biopsy of
either the myocardium or draining lymph nodes in patients with atrial
uptake of 18F FDG PET. We found evidence of AM in 15 patients. Results:
The mean age of the patients was 43.33±12.59 years with a male
predominance (73.3%). The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at
presentation was 48.07±12.29% and the left atrial volume was 37.6±10.64
ml. All patients had AF at presentation, atrial flutter was noted in 4
patients (26.7%) and 2 patients (13.3%) had atrioventricular nodal
reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). 18F FDG PET uptake was
noted in the atria in all patients and in the ventricles in 3 patients
(20%). Cardiac sarcoidosis was the diagnosis in 12 patients (80%)
while 3 patients (20%) had evidence of tuberculosis. The mean CHA2DS2
Vasc score of the patients was 1.06±0.93. Four patients (26.7%)
presented with ischemic stroke. All patients were treated with disease
specific therapy (immunosuppression or anti-tuberculosis therapy) in
addition to standard anti-arrhythmic medications. Over a mean follow up
of 30.53± 13 months we observed a significant improvement in clinical
status commensurate with a decline in atrial uptake. There was a
non-significant improvement in LVEF to 56±12.07% with disease specific
therapy. (p=0.0853) Conclusions: Atrial arrhythmias with granulomatous
lymphadenopathy may be a presenting feature of Atrial myocarditis. The
risk of stroke seems to be high in these individuals. This syndrome
should be suspected in young individuals presenting with atrial
arrhythmias and stroke without conventional risk factors.