title: Unusual perioperative cardiac emergency in a healthy young woman.
abstract: Serious cardiac complications occurring during noncardiac surgery in a young and otherwise normal person can be quite alarming for the anesthesiologist. We report here the case of a young, healthy woman who immediately after an uncomplicated spinal surgery developed a clinical picture suggestive of an acute myocardial infarction (MI) with positive relevant investigations. However, she had an abrupt and full clinical recovery and complete normalization of her cardiac investigations within a few days of this event and thereafter continued to lead a normal, symptom-free life unlike the usual course in an MI; her coronary angiography was also normal. A diagnosis of perioperative stress-induced cardiomyopathy or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy was subsequently made. This condition is characterized by a rapid, severe, but reversible, cardiac dysfunction triggered by physical or mental stress. Awareness of this entity should help anesthesiologists manage better this infrequent, but potentially life-threatening, perioperative complication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, GB Pant Hospital, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi 110002, India.
authors.forename: Pragati
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ganjoo
authors.forename: Vijay K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Hukum
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Monica S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Tandon
authors.forename: Daljit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Singh