ABSTRACT
Based on a personal case of a 47 year old woman with an adrenal medullary pheochromocytoma and stenosis of the left anterior descending artery treated by aorto-coronary bypass grafting after ablation of the pheochromocytoma, the authors illustrate the frequency and precocity of organic coronary artery disease in 27 cases in the literature. Chest pain and electrocardiographic changes are often attributed to functional ischaemia but the high incidence of organic coronary artery disease in the series analysed confirms the need for coronary angiography in doubtful cases. It is reasonable to start by removing the pheochromocytoma and, only then, consider coronary angiography with a view to coronary bypass surgery: the risks of a hypertensive crisis seem to be reduced when this protocol is followed.
