Hodgkinʹs Lymphoma Presenting with Heart Failure

Although the involvement of the heart by malignancy is relatively common, it is unusual for it to be detected premortem. In addition, there is a dearth of data on this subject in the literature. We report a case of Hodgkin’s lymphoma presenting with systemic signs and symptoms including abdominal distension, weakness, pallor, chills and fever, generalized edema, hepatosplenomegaly, and generalized lymphadenopathy, as well as signs of heart failure. Echocardiography revealed pericardial effusion, left ventricular hypertrophy, and lucent myocardial lesions. Right cervical lymph node biopsy established the diagnosis of nodular sclerosing type Hodgkin’s lymphoma with the involvement of the bone marrow at biopsy. After 14 sessions of chemotherapy, systemic and cardiac abnormalities improved. We believe this is the first case of Hodgkin’s lymphoma with cardiac metastasis and heart failure (Iranian Heart Journal 2008; 9 (3):59 -61).