Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases · Published 2026-05-01 · DOI 10.7326/aimcc.2025.0320
The pitfall of anchoring bias may contribute to diagnostic conundra. In this case, a patient with a history of systemic sarcoidosis presented to the electrophysiology clinic with palpitations. Rhythm monitoring revealed polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PMVT). A diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis was presumed and pursued even though repeat cardiac imaging was negative. In the interim, the patient developed new hypertension, and the patient's primary care provider screened the patient for pheochromocytoma. Despite the initial pursuit of a misdiagnosis in a patient with a high pretest probability for the wrong diagnosis, the pheochromocytoma was resected and the PMVT and hypertension was cured.
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