Acute Legionnaires’ Disease–Associated Complete Heart Block

Iriagbonse Asemota, Andre Montano, Humayun Naqvi, Janice Koshy, Nilesh Mathuria

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Legionnaires’ disease is a systemic disease caused by Legionella species that predominantly affects the lungs; however, extrapulmonary manifestations including cardiac involvement have been reported. We present a case of a 79-year-old woman who presented with cough, reduced appetite, and syncope and was found to be in third-degree atrioventricular block. The patient had a positive urine Legionella antigen with a finding on computed tomography of the chest of bilateral infiltrates. Despite antibiotic therapy, permanent pacemaker was implanted for persistent complete heart block. At 2-week follow-up, however, patient had regained intrinsic conduction. This case highlights Legionnaires’ disease as a potential reversible cause of complete heart block.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere241243
JournalAnnals of Internal Medicine Clinical Cases
Volume4
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2025

Keywords

  • AV block
  • Bradycardia
  • Heart block
  • Heart diseases
  • Infectious diseases
  • Legionella
  • Lungs
  • Pacemakers
  • Pneumonia
  • Syncope
  • Systemic diseases
  • Thorax

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Internal Medicine
  • Clinical Biochemistry

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