Calcium-channel blockade can mask the diagnosis of Conn's syndrome.
A 30-year-old woman presented with hypertension and hypokalaemia, and was found to have primary aldosteronism due to a Conn's adenoma, whose removal cured the hypertension. Before surgery, the characteristic biochemical changes which enabled the diagnosis were completely masked by administration of a calcium-channel blocker, amlodipine. It is likely that widespread use of this class of drugs contributes to under-diagnosis of Conn's syndrome as a curable cause of hypertension.
Brown
M J
MJ
Clinical Pharmacology Unit, University of Cambridge, Addenbrookes Hospital, UK.
Hopper
R V
RV
D000328:Adult; D017311:Amlodipine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006929:Hyperaldosteronism / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*
D015415:Biomarkers; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004573:Electrolytes; D017311:Amlodipine