1/1. Giant negative T waves during interferon therapy in a patient with chronic hepatitis c.interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) has been widely used for treatment of chronic hepatitis c in japan. In general, cardiovascular adverse reactions are rare in association with IFN-alpha therapy. Here, a 64-year-old man with chronic active hepatitis c complained of fatigue, palpitation and depression, and developed atrial fibrillation with prominent negative T waves during IFN-alpha therapy. Echocardiogram showed septal and apical hypertrophy. Three days after discontinuation of IFN-alpha, subjective symptoms and atrial fibrillation subsided. It is unclear whether or not IFN-alpha induced the giant negative T waves with apical hypertrophy. We might observe the developing course of hepatitis c virus (HCV)-related myocardial hypertrophy by chance. Cardiovascular toxicity should be carefully monitored during IFN-alpha therapy even in patients with minor cardiac disease, such as premature ventricular contracture (PVC) and mild hypertension.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = chronic hepatitis, hepatitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |