Hoarseness of voice as a primary presentation of pulmonary hypertension: a rare case of Ortner’s (Cardio-vocal) syndrome

Ortner's (cardio-vocal) syndrome is a rare disease entity that involves compression of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve due to enlargement of cardiovascular structures. The syndrome was first described by Norbert Ortner (an Austrian physician) in 1897 and is usually reported to be associated...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kashif Bin Naeem, Vinod Choondal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Barcaray International 2015-01-01
Series:International Cardiovascular Forum Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://icfjournal.org/index.php/icfj/article/view/159/pdf-2
Description
Summary:Ortner's (cardio-vocal) syndrome is a rare disease entity that involves compression of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve due to enlargement of cardiovascular structures. The syndrome was first described by Norbert Ortner (an Austrian physician) in 1897 and is usually reported to be associated with mitral stenosis. However, we report a rare case when a 20-year-old girl presented with hoarseness of voice and was found to have an enlarged main pulmonary trunk due to pulmonary hypertension that was compressing the left recurrent laryngeal nerve. The case highlights a rare presentation of a relatively common disease and stresses the importance of detailed cardiac workup in a patient with hoarseness of voice. We present the case and review the literature.
ISSN:2410-2636
2409-3424