Table II.
Differential Diagnosis of Pheochromocytoma 2
All hypertensive patients (sustained and paroxysmal) when diagnosis is unknown |
Anxiety, panic attacks, psychoneurosis, tension states |
Hyperthyroidism |
Paroxysmal tachycardia |
Hyperdynamic β‐adrenergic circulatory state |
Menopause |
Vasodilating headache (migraine and cluster headaches) |
Coronary insufficiency syndrome |
Renal parenchymal or renal arterial disease with hypertension |
Focal arterial insufficiency of the brain; cerebral vasculitis |
Intracranial lesions (with or without increased intracranial pressure) |
Autonomic hyper‐reflexia |
Diencephalic seizure; Page's syndrome; dopamine surges |
Preeclampsia (or eclampsia with convulsions) |
Hypertensive crises associated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors |
Hypoglycemia |
Neuroblastoma; ganglioneuroblastoma; ganglioneuroma |
Acute infectious disease; acute abdomen (cardiovascular catastrophe) |
Unexplained shock |
Neurofibromatosis (with hypertension) |
Rare causes of paroxysmal hypertension (adrenal medullary hyperplasia; acute porphyria; clonidine withdrawal; baroreflex failure; pseudopheochromocytoma: factitious—induced by certain illegal, prescription, and nonprescription drugs); fatal familial insomnia |
Conditions in italics may increase the excretion of catecholamines and/or metabolites. |