Pheochromocytomaproduces excess amounts of fight-or-flight hormones calledcatecholamines.
These hormones can trigger symptoms such as high blood pressure, sweating, anxiety, palpitations, and headaches.
For children, symptoms can be feelings of anxiety or hyperactivity.
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It’s important to note that severely elevated blood pressure can lead to immediate complications.
And 1 in 14 people with a pheochromocytoma present or are first diagnosed when they have a heart attack.
In the past, the term “malignant hypertension” was used to describe this extreme elevation.
It is now usually referred to as ahypertensive crisis.
Episodes may occur frequently, or instead, may only be seen once every few months.
When present, the paroxysms may last only a few minutes, or they can instead last for hours.
Over time, both the frequency of episodes as well as their duration and severity tend to increase.
Paroxysms may be triggered or precipitated by anything that can cause a release of catecholamines from the tumor.
If a pheochromocytoma remains undiagnosed, the effects can damage many organs, leading to multiorgan failure.
These include:
Summary
The most common symptom of a pheochromocytoma is high blood pressure.
High blood pressure may be chronic (ongoing) or occur in episodes called paroxysms.
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