Acquired von Willebrand Syndrome and Chronic Anaemia: A Different Diagnostic Approach

Heyde's syndrome is a form of acquired von Willebrand syndrome that consists of bleeding from intestinal angiodysplasia in the presence of aortic stenosis (AS). An association with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, rather than AS, by a similar mechanism has also been described. We report the case of a 78-year-old woman with chronic anaemia and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in whom intestinal angiodysplasia with active bleeding was identified by an unconventional method. In this case, the authors describe a different approach to reach the correct diagnosis.

In patients with anaemia due to gastrointestinal bleeding, a high level of suspicion is crucial to identify the haemorrhagic focus.Intestinal angiodysplasia is associated with acquired von Willebrand syndrome.Acquired von Willebrand syndrome secondary to hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy occurs by the same mechanism of aortic stenosis.