title: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a Caucasian Italian woman: case report.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. m.lisi@libero.it
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lisi
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zacà
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maffei
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Casucci
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maggi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lunghetti
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aitiani
authors.forename: Arcangelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carrera
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Castellani
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Favilli
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pierli
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mondillo
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents