Carotid sinus hypersensitivity and complete heart block in Reiter's syndrome

We describe a 42-year-old man with Reiter's syndrome who developed complete heart block only 5 weeks after the onset of his illness. He was also noted to have carotid sinus hypersensitivity and evidence of sinoatrial disease. There were no clinical signs or echocardiographic findings to suggest involvement of the aortic root or aortic valve. His arrhythmias were treated successfully with a physiological pacemaker. The combination of sinoatrial and atrioventricular node disease suggests that the inflammatory process in Reiter's syndrome can produce widespread involvement of the conducting system.