Acute Heart Failure in a Patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia following Daunorubicin Treatment: a Case Report

Abstract

Heart failure following anthracycline treatment is usually chronic, irreversible, and related to life time dose. We present a patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) who developed Heart failure soon after dose intensified treatment with daunorubicin, with a decrease in Ejection Fraction (EF) from 60% to as low as 10% six months after initial treatment. The patient was managed medically, his EF increased to greater than 50%. With this improvement in EF the patient was treated with reinduction chemotherapy and proceeded to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Following transplantation, the patient again developed heart failure, which contributed to his death. While anthracycline dose intensification can be effective in the treatment of AML, there is a risk of heart failure which requires further study.