Transient complete atrioventricular block associated with curcumin intake

Abstract

Curcumin is a polyphenol responsible for the yellow color of turmeric, a curry spice. A large body of evidence showed that curcumin possessed a variety of beneficial activities. We report a case of transient complete atrioventricular block in a 38-year-old man, after intake of curcumin containing pills for on 1 month. Since all other possible causes of conduction disturbance were excluded and causal relation was achieved by re-intake of the same amount of turmeric containing pills, side-effect of the curcumin containing pills was identified as the most likely diagnosis. After cessation of the pills, no further conduction disturbances and associated symptoms were noticed for the ensuing 6 months since discharge. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.