1 | INTRODUCTION
Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of unknown
etiology that progresses in relapses [1]. It is defined as a
systemic variable-vessel vasculitis according to the Chapel Hill
classification [2]. The disease is most common along the ”old silk
road”, in Mediterranean countries, and in the Middle and Far East.
Today, it has spread to Europe and the United States as a result of
migratory flows [3,4]. In sub-Saharan Africa, it has rarely been
described and the incidence appears to be low [5].
The most common clinical presentations of BD are oral-genital aphthae,
skin lesions, ocular involvement, and neurologic and vascular
manifestations. Other less frequent presentations include joint
involvement, gastrointestinal manifestations (6.3%), epididymitis
(7.2%), pleuropulmonary involvement (1.8%), and cardiac involvement
(1.8%) [6]. Among the vascular manifestations, arterial involvement
is less common than venous involvement. Arterial involvement often takes
the form of aneurysms and rarely thrombosis [7]. Aneurysms of the
superior mesenteric artery (SMA) are uncommon [8].
We report a case of BD in a patient of Malagasy origin complicated by
multiple cardiovascular diseases: dilated cardiomyopathy, aneurysm of
the abdominal aorta and SMA, and pulmonary embolism.