Pheochromocytoma is usually found in the medulla, less often in chromaffin tissue. Experts call it the most unexplored endocrine pathology to date. Modern medicine finds it difficult to explain the etiology and development of the disease. In order for a patient to be diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, the symptoms must be pronounced. It is known for certain that this disease is inherited and is quite rare: in one person out of ten thousand. Moreover, it should be noted that patients suffering from high blood pressure are at risk.
Pheochromocytoma: Diagnosis
As a rule, the diagnosis is accompanied by certain difficulties, because the tumor does not give itself away and develops completely asymptomatically. In about ten percent of cases, a neoplasm can develop into a malignant one, metastasizing to the lymph nodes, liver, even the lungs and muscles.
Symptomatics
If you really have a pheochromocytoma, the symptoms will be: first, high blood pressure (it can bepermanently or intermittently). Hypertension can be provoked by strong feelings, great physical exertion, or simply by the patient's unwillingness to limit himself to food. In addition, this disease is characterized by symptoms such as throbbing headache, nausea, vomiting, and excessive sweating. The patient's skin is pale, legs often cramp. It should be emphasized that if you have a pheochromocytoma, the symptoms completely disappear after the attack ends. In any case, it would be advisable to visit a specialist if you notice bouts of unreasonable anxiety, short-term fainting, "hot flashes" similar to those experienced by women with menopause.
Complications
Rarely, a patient is diagnosed with a complicated pheochromocytoma. Symptoms in this case resemble several diseases at once, among them cardiovascular, endocrine, gastric and mental. In particular, patients have acute heart failure, unmotivated psychosis, elevated red blood cells, uncontrolled salivation, and hyperglycemia. Among the clinical symptoms of pheochromocytoma, doctors call the presence of catecholamines in the urinary system and adrenal glands (these are substances produced by the tumor). After they have been discovered, it is necessary to observe how the patient's pressure fluctuates. In general, the control of cardiac activity is considered an important point in the diagnosis.
Treatment
Adrenal pheochromocytoma is usually treated with surgery,however, before prescribing surgery, the doctor must make sure that the patient's pressure is stabilized. For this, a-blockers are successfully used. Conservative treatment, in principle, is possible, but less effective, since it is mainly aimed at lowering the level of catecholamines in the body, which is fraught with serious stomach problems and even mental disorders.
