Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-19-2026
Abstract
The pitfall of anchoring bias may contribute to diagnostic conundra. In this case, a patient with a history of systemic sarcoidosis presented to the electrophysiology clinic with palpitations. Rhythm monitoring revealed polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PMVT). A diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis was presumed and pursued even though repeat cardiac imaging was negative. In the interim, the patient developed new hypertension, and the patient’s primary care provider screened the patient for pheochromocytoma. Despite the initial pursuit of a misdiagnosis in a patient with a high pretest probability for the wrong diagnosis, the pheochromocytoma was resected and the PMVT and hypertension was cured.
Recommended Citation
Saga, Anusha U.; Clark, Elizabeth; and Whitman, Isaac R., "Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia, Sarcoidosis, and the Ultimate Unmasking of a Pheochromocytoma" (2026). Department of Medicine Faculty Papers. Paper 585.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/medfp/585
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in Annals of Internal Medicine Clinical Cases, Volume 5, Issue 5, 2026, Article Number e250320.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.7326/aimcc.2025.0320. Copyright © 2026 Authors.