Jejunal Angiodysplasia in an Elderly Patient with Aortic Stenosis: Significance of Von Willebrand Factor as an Etiologic Factor

Heyde's syndrome is a disease in which patients with aortic stenosis (AS) bleed from angiodysplasia. An 80-year-old woman with a history of severe AS was referred to our hospital with melena and anemia. The patient underwent jejunal resection after repeated blood transfusions. A pathological examination revealed angiodysplasia, and the patient's plasma lacked high-molecular-weight von Willebrand factor (VWF) multimers, leading to the diagnosis of Heyde's syndrome. The patient underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) one year after the diagnosis, and the VWF index recovered. This is a valuable case in which the pathological analysis of angiodysplasia associated with Heyde's syndrome was possible.

Automated summary

Heyde's syndrome is a disease where patients with aortic stenosis (AS) suffer from bleeding due to angiodysplasia. In this case, an 80-year-old woman with severe AS presented with melena and anemia. After multiple blood transfusions, the patient underwent jejunal resection and a pathological examination revealed angiodysplasia. Heyde's syndrome was diagnosed as the patient's plasma lacked high-molecular-weight von Willebrand factor (VWF) multimers. One year after the diagnosis, the patient underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and the VWF index recovered. This valuable case allowed for the pathological analysis of angiodysplasia associated with Heyde's syndrome.