Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a Caucasian Italian woman: case report.
BACKGROUND
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is an acute cardiac syndrome characterized by transient LV regional wall motion abnormalities (with peculiar apical ballooning appearance), chest pain or dyspnea, ST-segment elevation and minor elevations of cardiac enzyme levels


METHODS
A 68-year-old woman was admitted to the Emergency Department because of sudden onset chest pain occurred while transferring her daughter, who had earlier suffered a major seizure, to the hospital. The EKG showed sinus tachycardia with ST-segment elevation in leads V2-V3 and ST-segment depression in leads V5-V6, she was, thus, referred for emergency coronary angiography. A pre-procedural transthoracic echocardiogram revealed regional systolic dysfunction of the LV walls with hypokinesis of the mid-apical segments and hyperkinesis of the basal segments. Coronary angiography showed patent epicardial coronary arteries; LV angiography demonstrated the characteristic morphology of apical ballooning with hyperkinesis of the basal segments and hypokinesis of the mid-apical segments. The post-procedural course was uneventful; on day 5 after admission the echocardiogram revealed full recovery of apical and mid-ventricular regional wall-motion abnormalities.


CONCLUSIONS
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a relatively rare, unique entity that has only recently been widely appreciated. Acute stress has been indicated as a common trigger for the transient LV apical ballooning syndrome, especially in postmenopausal women. The present report is a typical example of stress-induced takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a Caucasian Italian postmenopausal woman.
Lisi
Matteo
M
Department of Cardiology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. m.lisi@libero.it
Zacà
Valerio
V
Maffei
Silvia
S
Casucci
Francesca
F
Maggi
Marianna
M
Lunghetti
Stefano
S
Aitiani
Paolo
P
Carrera
Arcangelo
A
Castellani
Debora
D
Favilli
Roberto
R
Pierli
Carlo
C
Mondillo
Sergio
S
D000368:Aged; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology
D002317:Cardiovascular Agents