Mechanisms of disease: Neurogenic left ventricular dysfunction and neurogenic pulmonary edema

Background: Acute onset of cardiovascular dysfunction may be the result of insults to the central nervous and autonomic system. Several cerebral regions (insular cortex, lateral, hypothalamus, brain stem) have been identified as part of the “central autonomic network“. The brain stem plays an integral role in controlling and mediating autonomic tone. Patient and methods: Case reports Results: These two case reports demonstrate the intimate connectivity between the cardiovascular/pulmonary system and the central nervous system in a 13-year-old girl with occipital angiomatosis, but no history of heart disease who…