Final answer:
Pheochromocytoma symptoms arise from excessive catecholamine production due to adrenal medulla tumors, leading to symptoms like hypertension, weight loss, excessive sweating, and increased heart rate. The condition can also cause miosis, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and potentially adrenal crisis.
Step-by-step explanation:
Pheochromocytoma symptoms are due to excessive production of catecholamines by tumors located in the adrenal medulla and can lead to severe hypertension. The condition can manifest through a variety of symptoms, including significant weight loss, profuse sweating, increased heart rate, and difficulty sleeping. Additionally, patients may experience miosis (pinpoint pupils), blurred vision, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle twitching, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), seizures, and even unconsciousness.
Another relevant condition, which can share some of the symptoms is hyperthyroidism, characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat, heat intolerance, weight loss, presence of a goiter, and exophthalmia (bulging eyes).
During a pheochromocytoma-induced adrenal crisis, one may experience weakness, nausea, hypotension, fatigue, severe abdominal, back, and leg pain, circulatory system collapse, and kidney failure. These symptoms are influenced by various factors such as decreased firing rates of baroreceptors, anticipation of physical exercise or strong emotions, increased levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine, and changes in thyroid hormone levels, calcium, potassium, and sodium ions in the blood.