Tag Archives: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Background Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) – also known as broken-heart syndrome, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, and stress-induced cardiomyopathy – is a recently discovered acute cardiac disease first described in Japan in 1991.1 TTS has a clinical presentation with chest pain, ischaemic electrocardiographic (ECG) changes, and elevation of biomarkers, such as cardiac troponin and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), triggered by significant emotional or physical stress, and accompanied by distinct patterns of transient left ventricular dysfunction.2,3 This contractile dysfunction classically adopts an apical ballooning shape of the left cardiac chamber

Case An 81-year-old woman presented to our cardiac centre with acute onset ischaemic sounding chest pain during week 4 of the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. She reported increasing anxiety since the start of isolation. The onset of chest pain was related to a package dropped off by her family and occurred within an hour of receiving it. Although welcome, this caused her a mixed extreme of emotions as it both heightened her sense of loneliness and anxiety, while at the same time caused her pleasure from family contact. Her past medical history included permanent atrial fibrillation (AF), hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and iron deficie

Introduction Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is characterised by a transient left ventricular dysfunction, which is classically accompanied by left ventricular apical ballooning and akinesis.1,2 The condition predominantly affects post-menopausal women and involves a neuro-cardiac action often triggered by an emotional or physical stressor.2 While the pathophysiology is not completely understood, postulated mechanisms include catecholamine excess,3 and microvascular dysfunction.4 Case A previously well 71-year-old woman was admitted to hospital via ambulance with sudden-onset angina radiating to the left shoulder and jaw, along with dyspnoea.

Case report A 59-year-old woman was admitted with symptoms and signs suggesting acute coronary syndrome. A 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) demonstrated ST segment elevation in leads V2-V6, I, II and aVL consistent with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. She underwent emergency coronary angiography, which demonstrated only minor irregularities in coronaries. Chest pain resolved completely after four hours. Figure 1b. Transthoracic echocardiography during the initial admission (apical four-chamber view, diastole) Figure 1a. Transthoracic echocardiography during the initial admission (apical four-chamber view, systole) demonstrating ba