[Acute atrio-ventricular block in sickle cell anemia].

Background: Even though sickle cell disease has a high prevalence amongst the black race and despite its well known potential of micro infarction, there have been only a few reports regarding the acute myocardial damage during vaso-occlusive crisis. The risk of atrio ventricular block during these crises has never been described in a large survey.

Patients And Results: Ten patients (six men and four women, mean age 39 years old) were hospitalized for an acute atrio ventricular block.

[Transitory acute atrioventricular block in an African patient: consider sickle cell anemia].

This case report shows a rare cardiac complication of sickle cell anemia in a young African patient which was an acute paroxysmal atrio-ventricular block. Acute paroxysmal atrioventricular block is a rare complication of polymerization of hemoglobin S during sickle cell disease. Hence, sickle cell anemia should be considered as a cause of auriculoventricular block in black African patients.

[Cardiac manifestations of sickle cell anemia].

HEMOGLOBINS S AND C: Drepanocytosis, the occurrence of sickle cells (drepanocytes) in the blood, is an inherited condition. Electrophoresis demonstrates hemoglobin SS in homozygous subjects who present the typical clinical features of severe hemolytic sickle-cell anemia. Heterozygous subjects have sickle-cell anemia trait, an asymptomatic condition associated with a 50% hemoglobin S and 50% hemoglobin C at electrophoresis.