Cardio-vocal syndrome - How 'benign' condition can turn 'malignant'?

Cardio-vocal syndrome (also called as Ortner's syndrome) is hoarseness of voice due to compression of left recurrent laryngeal nerve secondary to enlarged cardiac chambers and structures. We present two cases of Ortner's syndrome secondary to atrial fibrillation causing enlargement of left atrium compressing the left recurrent laryngeal nerve, and their clinical outcomes.

A patient with dysphagia.

Mitral stenosis (MS) is the most common valvular heart disease in developing countries where rheumatic fever is common. It is also more common in women. The normal mitral orifice is 4-5 square cm in area and the symptoms do not occur until the orifice area falls to below 2.0 square cm and usually below 1.5 square cm. The orifice area decreases by 0.1-0.3 square cm per year. Rarely, the dilatation of the left atrium may cause the symptoms of dysphagia from esophageal compression. Although cardiovascular dysphagia is rare, it should be considered in the case of mitral stenosis. The etiologies of mitral stenosis can be congenital, acquired, or iatrogenic. This case report presents a patient having dysphagia due to an enlarged left atrium.