Systolic murmur in disguise: subclavian artery stenosis as an overlooked cause of missed case of hypertension

Abstract

In this report we present a case of missed hypertension due to subclavian artery stenosis. A 77 year-old female patient, initially thought as being normotensive, was referred to us due to newly discovered systolic heart murmur suspicious for aortic stenosis. We noted inter-arm blood pressure difference of 30 mmHg, with higher, hypertensive values on right arm. Further workup and medical imaging excluded aortic stenosis and revealed an asymptomatic, hemodynamically significant, stenosis of left subclavian artery. Due to absence of symptoms, the patient has been managed with conservative therapy for subclavian stenosis and hypertension, and she is currently in good conditions and followed up for any signs of disease progression. This case clearly shows importance of measuring blood pressure on both arms when initially diagnosing hypertension as this is often overlooked and is key to properly diagnose hypertension and possible subclavian stenosis.

Keywords:

• MeSH: subclavian steal syndrome
• systolic murmurs
• blood pressure
• aortic valve stenosis
• therapy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the author(s).