A 46-year-old woman complained of a 10-year history of headache, nausea, a precordial oppressive feeling and shortness of breath on miction. She had noted a marked elevation in her blood pressure after miction using home blood pressure measurement. Her catecholamine levels were less than twice the value of the normal upper limit. Several imaging modalities detected a urinary bladder tumor, and 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy showed positive accumulation. The diagnosis of urinary bladder paraganglioma was confirmed by partial cystectomy. We must keep in mind that paroxysms and hypertension associated with miction are important diagnostic clues of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. Home blood pressure measurement was very useful for detecting hypertension in this case.
Keywords: catecholamine; hypertensive crisis; postmiction syndrome; secondary hypertension; urinary bladder tumor.