title: [Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: a consensus document].
abstract: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a syndrome characterized by acute regional systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle, frequently related to psycho-physical acute stress, and usually reversible. This rare syndrome involves more often the female sex with the highest frequency of occurrence between the seventh and eighth decade of life. Etiology has not been clarified yet and several hypotheses have been postulated: multiple epicardial coronary artery damage, abnormal coronary microcirculation, catecholamine-mediated cardiac toxicity, and neurogenic stunning. Clinical presentation is not easy to distinguish from an acute coronary syndrome: chest pain at rest or dyspnea, new-onset electrocardiographic changes, characterized by ST-segment elevation or T-wave inversion. Coronary angiography, which should be performed within 48 h of symptom onset in order to be diagnostic, excludes the presence of significant atherosclerotic stenosis or plaque rupture. Ventricular angiography shows the typical regional wall motion abnormalities (apical akinesia and hyperkinesia of the mid-basal segments) that give to the syndrome its name (takotsubo is a traditional Japanese octopus trap or pot). Echocardiography performed in the acute phase also evidences wall motion abnormalities that characteristically regress in the following days. There is no specific treatment for this syndrome, but supportive and symptomatic therapy is usually administered.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Malattie dell Apparato Cardiovascolare, Università degli Studi, A.O.U. Policlinico, P. Giaccone, Via del Vespro, 129, 90127 Palermo. novosav@unipa.it
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Novo
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akashi
authors.forename: Eloisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arbustini
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Assennato
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Azzarelli
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbaro
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fedele
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giordan
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mazzarotto
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Modena
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Novo
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parodi
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Previtali
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rapezzi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sconci
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sganzerla
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tona
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Salerno-Uriarte
mesh_terms: D017023:Coronary Angiography; D006801:Humans; D054549:Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*