Addison's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Addison's Disease, including details on chronic adrenal insufficiency, treatment, causes, medication.

Relative adrenal insufficiency in severe congestive heart failure with preserved systolic function: a case report.

Lovelock JD, Coslet S, Johnson M, Rich S, Gomberg-Maitland M

Department of Cardiology, University of Chicago Hospitals, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Relative adrenal insufficiency in critically ill patients is an important syndrome in septic shock. The insufficient stress response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in acute illness contributes to hemodynamic instability. Treatment of this state in septic shock improves patient outcomes. In this report, we describe the case of a patient with severe diastolic dysfunction who presented in cardiogenic shock associated with relative adrenal insufficiency and had a complete recovery with corticosteroid replacement. Alteration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may be more prevalent than suspected in end-stage heart failure, and the diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome may ultimately improve outcomes in a subgroup of heart failure patients.

Published 16 August 2007 in J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown), 8(9): 754-7.
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