Is there an association between Fahr’s disease and cardiac conduction system disease? : A case report

Abstract

• BACKGROUND: Fahr's disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder of unknown cause characterized by idiopathic basal ganglia calcification that is associated with neuropsychiatric and cognitive impairment. No case of Fahr's disease with associated cardiac conduction disease has been described in the literature to date. The objective of this case report was to describe a young female with various cardiac conduction system abnormalities and bilateral basal ganglia calcification suggestive of Fahr's disease.
• CASE REPORT: A 19-year-old female was transferred to our hospital for a pacemaker insertion. Her past medical history included cognitive impairment and asymptomatic congenital complete heart block since birth. Her manifestations included cognitive impairment, tremors, rigidity, ataxia, bilateral basal ganglia calcification without clinical manifestations of mitochondrial cytopathy. She also had right bundle branch block, left anterior fascicular block, intermittent complete heart block, atrial arrhythmias with advanced atrioventricular blocks and ventricular asystole manifested by Stokes-Adams seizures, which was diagnosed as epilepsy.
• CONCLUSIONS: According to our knowledge, this was the first case report of a suspected association between Fahr's disease and isolated cardiac conduction system disease. In addition, this case illustrated that in patients with heart blocks and seizures, a diagnosis of epilepsy needs to be made with caution and such patients need further evaluations by a cardiologist or electrophysiologist to consider pacing and prevent future catastrophic events.
• KEYWORDS: Fahr’s Disease, Basal Ganglia Calcification, Ccardiac Conduction Defect, Congenital Heart Block, Epilepsy.