title: Left ventricular free wall rupture in a Caucasian female with Takotsubo syndrome: a case report and a brief literature review.
abstract: The takotsubo syndrome is a clinical entity that can mimic an acute myocardial infarction. It is characterised by anginal chest pain with ST-T elevation in precordial leads, without coronary obstruction at angiography; its distinctive feature is a peculiar pattern of left ventricular contraction, with expansion of the apical segments and basal hyperkinesis, also known as 'apical ballooning'. This syndrome usually has a good prognosis, with normalisation of the left ventricular contraction impairment within several days, although Japanese authors have described two cases of free left ventricular wall rupture in these patients.We describe a case of apical ballooning syndrome complicated by left ventricular rupture in a Caucasian old female. To our knowledge, this is the first-ever case of a fatal outcome in the Caucasian population, due to free wall ventricular rupture, and confirms that the takotsubo syndrome may lead to a fatal cardiac event.
authors.affiliation: ICCU Cardiology Department A. De Gasperis, Niguarda Ca Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy. amafric@tin.it
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mafrici
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Proietti
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fusco
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Biase
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klugmann
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006341:Heart Rupture / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis; D044465:White People