Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or broken-heart syndrome

Abstract

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy mimics acute coronary syndrome and is accompanied by reversible left ventricular apical ballooning in the absence of angiographically significant coronary artery stenosis. In Japanese, "takotsubo" means "fishing pot for trapping octopus," and the left ventricle of a patient diagnosed with this condition resembles that shape. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which is transient and typically precipitated by acute emotional stress, is also known as "stress cardiomyopathy" or "broken-heart syndrome."Herein, we describe the clinical angiographic characteristics of 4 patients who exhibited this syndrome, and we review the existing literature and propose reasons to conduct prospective studies.

Fig. 1 Patient 1. Left ventricular angiography in systole (A) and diastole (B) shows apical ballooning and hypercontraction of the basal segments.

Fig. 2 Patient 4. A 12-lead electrocardiogram of a patient diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy shows ST-segment elevation and deep T-wave inversions in the anterior leads, in association with a prolonged QT interval.