Valvular Disease and Myocardial Infarctions in a Patient With Behçet Disease

Abstract

Cardiac involvement occurs in less than 5% of Behçet patients, and coincidence of regurgitation of the aortic and mitral valves and myocardial infarctions is rare. This report describes a 49-year-old Turkish man with Behçet disease (BD) of 6 years' duration who presented with reduced left ventricular function. Both aortic and mitral valves had to be replaced. Five months later, the patient presented with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. Only 1 month later, the patient was successfully resuscitated after an acute ST segment elevation inferior myocardial infarction. Coronary arteries were normal in appearance at angiography before valvular replacement and at autopsy 2 years later. This report should increase awareness of cardiac involvement in BD and its potential danger. Even in BD patients without atherothrombotic plaques, myocardial infarctions can happen. Early and adequate immunosuppressive treatment might have reduced cardiac morbidity in this patient.