Carney’s triad—gastric leiomyosarcoma, pulmonary chondroma, and extra-adrenal paraganglioma—is a syndrome that occurs primarily in young women. To date, 28 patients with at least two of these individually unusual or rare neoplasms have been described.

Signs and symptoms of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma include high blood pressure and headache.

• High blood pressure.
• Headache.
• Heavy sweating for no known reason.
• A strong, fast, or irregular heartbeat.
• Being shaky.
• Being extremely pale.

Paraganglioma cells commonly secrete hormones known as catecholamines or adrenaline, which is the fight-or-flight hormone. This can cause episodes of high blood pressure, a rapid heartbeat, sweating, headache and tremors. Paraganglioma treatment most often involves surgery to remove the tumor.

Hereditary paraganglioma-pheochromocytoma syndrome is a condition in which tumors develop in structures called paraganglia. Paraganglia are bundles of cells of the peripheral nervous system (the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord). A tumor that develops in the paraganglia is called a paraganglioma.

Paraganglia are groups of chromaffin neurosecretory cells of neural crest origin that are dispersed throughout the body of both rodents and humans as gray-to-pink masses. They are classified as sympathetic or parasympathetic according to their location and neural association.

Vagal paragangliomas are rare tumors that develop in the retrostyloid compartment of the parapharyngeal space. They arise from an island of paraganglion tissue derived from the neural crest that is located on the vagus nerve. Very occasionally vagal paragangliomas develop on the more distal part of the nerve.

The symptoms may include headaches, hypertension or high blood pressure, palpitations, excessive sweating, and anxiety. Treatment may be difficult because it will jar the paraganglioma to release some hormones.

Paraganglioma can occur at any age, but most commonly affects people between the ages of 20 and 50. While very rare, the illness often causes a range of symptoms that when recognized can help with diagnosis. Many of these symptoms can be caused by multiple other conditions as well.

The most common symptoms of lupus (which are the same for men and women) are: Extreme fatigue (tiredness) Headaches. Painful or swollen joints. Fever. Anemia (low numbers of red blood cells or hemoglobin, or low total blood volume) Swelling (edema) in feet, legs, hands, and/or around eyes.

A paraganglioma is an abnormal growth of cells that forms from a specific type of nerve cell that’s found throughout the body. These specific nerve cells (chromaffin cells) perform important functions in the body, including regulating blood pressure. When chromaffin cells become abnormal they can form growths (tumors).