Cardiovascular Collapse in Acute Poliomyelitis

Abstract

Cardiovascular collapse accounted for approximately one-third of the deaths from acute poliomyelitis in two epidemics. This syndrome occurred early in the disease and only in cases of bulbar involvement. In all cases there was morphologic involvement of the medulla and in 75 per cent of the cases there was a varying degree of myocarditis. There was a much smaller incidence of less severe myocarditis in the cases dying of other causes. It is suggested that the combination of sustained vasoconstriction arising as a result of the medullary lesion and the presence of interstitial myocarditis leads to circulatory failure and pulmonary edema.