CARDIAC DYSFUNCTION IN A PATIENT WITH FAMILIAL HYPOKALEMIC PERIODIC PARALYSIS

A 19-year-old white man with familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis developed evidence of cardiac dysfunction during an episode of flaccid paralysis. This consisted of elevated total creatinine phosphokinase (CPK), an incresed myocardial fraction of CPK (myocardial band) alteration in the lactic dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern, severe bradycardia, and evidence of left ventricular dysfunction. These findings in conjunction with selected cases from the literature, suggest the possibility that cardiomyopathy may be a heretofore unrecognized complication of this disorder.