Heart Failure in a Patient with Leprosy

Abstract

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a chronic infection caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Though leprosy predominantly involves peripheral nerves and skin, visceral involvement was recognized as early as 1894 by Hansen and Looft. It is known that the bacilli can lie dormant in some tissues of the body long after the skin smears have become negative. We describe a case of leprosy in an Indian male who presented to us with heart failure. This is likely the first report of showing the possible association of leprosy with heart failure from India. The cardiovascular involvement in leprosy is briefly reviewed.

Morbus Hansen Tipe Multibasiler dengan Penyulit Penyakit Ginjal Kronis dan Gagal Jantung Kongestif

“…Hipotensi ortostatik, disfungsi barorefleks dan hipotensi postprandial dapat terjadi karena pengaruh penyakit kusta terhadap fungsi saraf otonom (9). Dari banyak penelitian dan literatur mengenai tiga obat antilepra yang umum digunakan clofazimine, rifampicin, dan dapson didapatkan bahwa ketiga obat ini tidak memiliki efek samping kardiotoksisitas (10), selain itu tidak ada kontraindikasi pasien dengan penyakit jantung kronis untuk menerima ketiga obat ini (4).…”