Abstract

Cardiac complications of iron overload are the most common cause of death in patients with thalassemia major. These complications include recurrent pericarditis, refractory congestive heart failure and rhythm disorders. The usual rhythm disturbances are supraventricular or ventricular premature contractions and first-or second-degree heart block. Complete heart block is a very rare complication of thalassemia major. Herein, we report a case of complete heart block with thalassemia major. The patient also had serious congestive heart failure. Management of the heart block with pacemaker brought no clinical improvement, and she died in the second month of hospitalization.

How to cite

1.
Küçükosmanoğlu O, Ozbarlas N, Saşmaz I. Complete heart block in thalassemia major: a case report. Turk J Pediatr 2002; 44: 261-262.