Heyde’s syndrome: Rarely heard and often missed.

ABSTRACT

Gastrointestinal blood loss is a common and important problem in clinical practice. It is sometimes difficult to locate and treat gastrointestinal bleeding. We discuss Heyde’s syndrome, an important cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in the elderly, in the context of a case report. Heyde’s syndrome is bleeding from gastrointestinal angiodysplasias in patients with aortic stenosis. For this, a wide range of investigations and treatment modalities are now available. One should therefore make an aggressive attempt to localise the bleeding site. Newer endoscopic technologies may prove beneficial. Aortic valve replacement is claimed to minimise or even stop the bleeding in such patients. But still there are a few reports showing gastrointestinal bleeding after aortic valve replacement. Old age and co-morbidities may create a hindrance in valve replacement or resection surgery. Some newer treatment options like hormonal and thalidomide therapy look promising but they have inadequate evidence behind them. Here, we discuss this clinical problem, strategies and evidence, areas of uncertainty, available guidelines, and our conclusions about Heyde’s syndrome.