Ortner's syndrome is a rare cardiovocal syndrome

Syndrome

In medicine and psychology, a syndrome is the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs , symptoms , phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one or more features alerts the physician to the possible presence of the others...

 and refers to recurrent laryngeal nerve

Recurrent laryngeal nerve

The recurrent laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve that supplies motor function and sensation to the larynx . It travels within the endoneurium...

 palsy

Palsy

In medicine, palsy is the paralysis of a body part, often accompanied by loss of sensation and by uncontrolled body movements, such as shaking. Medical conditions involving palsy include cerebral palsy , brachial palsy , and Bell's palsy ....

 from cardiovascular disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

. It was first described by N. Ortner, an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n physician, in 1897.

The most common historical cause is a dilated left atrium

Left atrium

The left atrium is one of the four chambers in the human heart. It receives oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins, and pumps it into the left ventricle, via the mitral valve.-Foramen ovale:...

 due to mitral stenosis

Mitral stenosis

Mitral stenosis is a valvular heart disease characterized by the narrowing of the orifice of the mitral valve of the heart.-Signs and symptoms:Symptoms of mitral stenosis include:...

, but other causes, including pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension

In medicine, pulmonary hypertension is an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, or pulmonary capillaries, together known as the lung vasculature, leading to shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and other symptoms, all of which are exacerbated by exertion...

, thoracic aortic

Aorta

The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...

 aneurysms and aberrant subclavian artery

Aberrant subclavian artery

Aberrant subclavian artery, or aberrant subclavian artery syndrome refers to a rare anatomical variant of the origin of the right or left subclavian artery...

 syndrome have been reported.

Dysphagia

Dysphagia

Dysphagia is the medical term for the symptom of difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, the term is sometimes used as a condition in its own right. Sufferers are sometimes unaware of their dysphagia....

 caused by a similar mechanism is referred to as dysphagia aortica, or, in the case of subclavian artery

Subclavian artery

In human anatomy, the subclavian arteries are two major arteries of the upper thorax , below the clavicle . They receive blood from the top of the aorta...

 aberrancy, as dysphagia lusoria.

A second Ortner's syndrome, Ortner's syndrome II, refers to abdominal angina

Abdominal angina

Abdominal angina is postprandial abdominal pain that occurs in individuals with insufficient blood flow to meet mesenteric visceral demands. The term angina is used in reference to angina pectoris, a similar symptom due to obstruction of the coronary artery...

.