Transient left ventricular ballooning (tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy) soon after intravenous ergonovine injection following caesarean delivery

Transient left ventricular ballooning also called tako-tsubo syndrome, is increasingly being recognized as cardiomyopathy mimicking the clinical scenario of an acute myocardial infarction. Generally, it is characterized by apical ballooning appearance of the left ventricle in the presence of normal coronary arteries on the angiogram. Recently, a variant form involving the midventricle with sparing of the apical and basal segments has been described. This syndrome is more prevalent in postmenopausal woman and usually preceded by extreme emotional and/or physical stress. We describe a case never reported before of transient left ventricular ballooning occurring during the early postpartum period after ergonovine injection rapidly evolving from a 'typical apical' ballooning into a 'midventricular' myocardial dysfunction.     

Transient left apical ballooning syndrome--the need for a common terminology? A reply

The apical ballooning syndrome, called also transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome or Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy is a new syndrome that mimics acute myocardial infarction. The authors comment the statement of Dr Parodi who recommended a new denomination of neuromediated myocardial stunning. According to many different denominations of the syndrome and over 25 years history of research on it, the authors recommended a name of "transient left ventricular ballooning syndrome (TLVBS)" and pursued to goal a new expert consensus.     

Transient left ventricular apical ballooning after a cocaine binge

Left ventricular apical ballooning is an increasingly reported phenomenon with an onset that is usually triggered by severe and often acute emotional incidents. We report a rare case of acute left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome, mimicking acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction, in a post menopausal woman whose only predisposing factor was an all-night cocaine binge.     

Could left ventricular apical ballooning represent spontaneous myocardial infarction abortion?

Left ventricular apical ballooning, also named tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy, is a syndrome characterized by chest pain, transient left ventricular dysfunction and specific electrocardiographic changes mimicking an acute myocardial infarction without significant stenosis on the coronary angiogram. Although the aetiology remains unknown, several reports have found that preceding psychological stress could act as a trigger. This report describes a case of tako-tsubo-like left ventricular apical ballooning in a patient with "soft" atherosclerotic plaque at the middle portion of the left anterior descending coronary artery.     

Transient left ventricular apical ballooning during dobutamine myocardial perfusion imaging

The transient left ventricular apical ballooning is characterized by wall motion abnormalities involving the apex in the absence of obstructive coronary disease. It is precipitated by acute emotional or physical stress and is most often reported in post-menopausal women. We report a case of transient left ventricular "apical ballooning" without significant coronary artery disease precipitated by high dose dobutamine infusion during pharmacological stress myocardial perfusion imaging. The unique feature of our case was precipitation by chemical stress rather than emotional/physical stress.     

Tako-Tsubo-Kardiomyopathie: Differentialdiagnose des akuten Koronarsyndroms

We report on a 71-year-old female, who was admitted to the emergency department because of acute chest pain. Due to similar symptoms the previous day an acute coronary syndrome had been ruled out non-invasively by ECG and laboratory tests. Acute physical or emotional stressful events were negated by the patient. The ECG showed newly diagnosed inverted T waves in the precordial leads. The lab showed a minimal release of myocardial enzymes and proteins. Echocardiographically apical hypokinesia was observed. Coronary angiography revealed no significant occlusion and showed left ventricular apical ballooning. Due to the symptoms resembling acute myocardial infarction, the absence of obstructive coronary disease and the typical left ventricular apical ballooning we assume that the patient had Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy.     

Transient left ventricular dysfunction due to stress-induced cardiomyopathy

The case presented here is of a 71-yr-old female patient who met the diagnostic criteria for stress-induced cardiomyopathy, which was triggered by intense emotional stress after being hit by a bicycle. The clinical picture mimicked that of an acute myocardial infarction, manifesting as precordial pain, ST-segment depression followed by deep negative T waves and prolonging of the QT interval, slight increase in cardiac enzymes and coursing with transient apical ballooning of the left ventricle and hyperkinesis of the basal walls (conferring the aspect of "apical ballooning"), although in the absence of subepicardial coronary obstruction. Ventricular function normalized after the second week of clinical evolution.     

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy: a rare and badly known clinical entity

Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy or "transient left ventricular (LV) apical ballooning" clinically presents like acute myocardial infarction without angiographic stenosis on coronary angiogram and a transient (reversible) LV apical ballooning. We discuss here about a 56-year-old woman complains of first constrictive chest pain with ST elevation in leads V2-V6 and minimal enzymatic release. Coronary angiogram demonstrates vessels without stenosis and the left ventriculogram an extensive LV apical wall motion abnormalities. LV dysfunction will only be transient since 24 hours after admission echographic images demonstrate quite complete recovery of LV systolic function. The pain disappears 12 hours after admission and the creatine kinase level normalize after 48 hours.     

Flail P2 cusp of posterior mitral valve leaflet demonstrated on multi-slice computed tomography

The "apical ballooning" is a cardiac syndrome characterized by acute extensive but reversible akinesia of the apex and mid part of the left ventricle (LV), without obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), triggered by emotional or physical stress, accompanied by chest pain and/or dyspnoea, electrocardiographic changes mimicking acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and minimal but, to date, obligatory release of cardiac enzymes. Today the precise aetiology remains unknown, but prognosis is generally excellent. We hereby report a unique case of a 60-year-old woman presenting with transient wide anterolateral akinesia and severe LV dysfunction with persistently normal myocardial markers, despite the extent of wall motion abnormalities. This clinical vignette is the first proof of the concept that timely recognition and management may be able to prevent myocardial necrosis in patients with apical ballooning syndrome.     

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy presenting as multivessel coronary spasm syndrome: case report and review of the literature

Takotsubo' cardiomyopathy, more recently called transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome, is a recently described acute cardiac syndrome. This increasingly reported syndrome consists of an acute onset of transient extensive akinesia of the apical and mid-portions of the left ventricle, producing ballooning of the apex in systole in the absence of significant coronary artery disease. The syndrome is accompanied by angina-like chest pain, electrocardiographic changes and minimal release of cardiac enzymes and biomarker levels, mimicking an acute myocardial infarction and is often preceded by an episode of emotional or physical stress, which may play a key role in the pathogenesis of the disorder. However, the exact mechanism still remains unknown. We describe the history of an 83-year-old man presenting to the emergency department with clinical findings of acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation in the precordial leads, but emergency coronarography showed no significant obstruction. Left ventricular angiography demonstrated the typical apical ballooning. ST-segment elevation in the precordial leads on the admission ECG resolved the day after, but new anginal chest pain was accompanied by transient ST-segment elevation in the inferior leads, suggesting multivessel coronary spasm. Awareness of the existence of the syndrome is important and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome.     

Left ventricular apical ballooning: not an uncommon variant of acute myocardial infarction in women

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular apical ballooning, a new syndrome recently described in Japan, is characterized by chest pain, electrocardiographic changes mimicking acute myocardial infarction, and transient apical dyskinesia with normal coronary arteries. Although several studies have defined the clinical characteristics, the prevalence of this syndrome remains unclear. HYPOTHESIS: This study sought to determine the prevalence of left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome. METHODS: From January 2002 to September 2004, clinical, echocardiographic, and angiographic data of hospitalization and follow-up were collected from 638 consecutive patients referred to our Heart Institute for primary percutaneous intervention. RESULTS: Thirteen patients (2%) were diagnosed with transient left ventricular apical ballooning. All but one patient were women, representing a 6% incidence for the female patients with acute myocardial infarction. A triggering factor was identified in eight. One patient died of cardiogenic shock. Left ventricular systolic function recovered completely within 4-5 weeks in the remaining 12 survivors. CONCLUSION: This syndrome is not uncommon and should be considered particularly in female patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction.     

Left ventricular free wall rupture in transient left ventricular apical ballooning.

A 79-year-old woman presented with chest pain. Her symptoms, combined with the results of an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram and laboratory investigations were compatible with an extensive acute anterior myocardial infarction. However, emergency coronary angiography showed no stenotic lesion in any coronary artery, but left ventriculography revealed apical ballooning akinesis and basal hyperkinesis and she was diagnosed as having transient left ventricular apical ballooning. After 7 days, she suddenly went into cardiopulmonary arrest because of cardiac tamponade. The autopsy revealed a free wall rupture. Generally, the prognosis in transient left ventricular apical ballooning is good; left ventricular free wall rupture is very rare.     

Evaluation of transient apical ballooning with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and 31-phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Apical ballooning is an increasingly reported transient cardiomyopathy with yet unknown origin. In this study 2 cases of apical ballooning are described in whom we used a combined approach of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and 31-Phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS). Electrocardiogram showed ST abnormalities and cardiac serum markers were mildly elevated, but CAG demonstrated smooth coronary arteries. Cine-CMR revealed severe apical akinesia and significantly decreased ejection fraction. Furthermore we detected reduced myocardial phosphocreatine to beta-ATP (PCr/b-ATP) ratios during the first week of acute disease. After 1 week we observed an improvement of PCr/b-ATP ratios by 68% and 34%, which was associated with an increase in left ventricular function. Our data suggest that 31P MRS might be a valuable tool in the evaluation of apical ballooning, but larger cohorts are needed to improve the understanding of metabolic changes during transient apical ballooning.     

A case of recurrent transient left ventricular apical ballooning associated with atrial fibrillation

We report the case of a post-menopausal female who presented two episodes of transient left ventricular apical ballooning associated with rapid atrial fibrillation within a four-month period. The clinical features of this phenomenon also known as Tako-tsubo mimic acute myocardial infarction and may be a form of catecholamine-induced neurogenic stunning. The case illustrates that typical ECG features could be masked by atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response.     

Biventricular involvement in transient apical ballooning syndrome

Transient apical ballooning syndrome (Takotsubo cardiomyopathy) is an acute cardiac syndrome mimicking ST-elevation myocardial infarction. It is characterized by ventricular wall motion abnormalities confined to the apical regions of the left ventricle. Here we describe an 80-year old woman presenting with acute shortness of breath. Echocardiography demonstrated left and right ventricular apical akinesia and basal hyperkinesia. Cardiac catheterisation disclosed minimal atherosclerotic changes of the coronary arteries. Both symptoms and echocardiographic findings resolved completely within one week.     

Transient left ventricular apical ballooning without coronary stenoses syndrome: importance of the intraventricular pressure gradient

A syndrome of transient apical ballooning without coronary stenosis, which mimics acute myocardial infarction, was recently described. Although several possible etiologic mechanisms have been proposed and investigated, the precise cause remains unclear. We describe 3 cases of transient left ventricular apical ballooning without coronary stenosis, and discuss the etiology of this syndrome, in particular the possible role of a transient intraventricular gradient.     

Transient left ventricular apical ballooning.

We describe the case of an elderly woman patient referred for primary angioplasty for acute anterior myocardial infarction, which developed after intense emotional stress. The coronary angiogram was surprisingly normal, but left ventriculography showed severe apical dilatation and dyskinesia, confirmed by echocardiography. By this time we suspected a syndrome of transient apical ballooning without coronary stenosis, which mimics acute myocardial infarction. She underwent medical therapy and subsequent clinical evolution was favorable, with complete recovery of left ventricular systolic function. We discuss the clinical setting and the pathophysiologic mechanisms of this syndrome.     

Long QT syndrome and torsade de pointes in transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome

A recently reported cardiac syndrome of reversible left ventricular apical ballooning, also called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or ampulla cardiomyopathy, clinically resembles acute myocardial infarction and presents with chest pain, anterior electrocardiographic changes and minimal elevation of cardiac enzymes in absence of myocardial ischemia or injury. Left ventricular function recovers completely in days to weeks. This syndrome is likely a non-ischemic, metabolic-dependent syndrome caused by stress-induced activation of the cardiac adrenoceptors, and results in markedly abnormal ventricular repolarization. Reported here is a case of left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome with QT interval prolongation in a young man who developed torsade de pointes and experienced aborted sudden cardiac death. Patient had a complete recovery of cardiac function and normalization of QT interval in a few days. The syndrome of transient left ventricular apical ballooning could be considered among the causes of long QT syndrome and torsade de pointes.     

心尖部心肌收缩障碍综合征

心尖部心肌收缩障碍综合征是临床上表现为一过性类似急性心肌梗死样胸痛及心电图改变,冠状动脉造影未见器质性狭窄,左心室造影心尖部收缩功能异常的一类病症。病因尚不清楚,大多在数天至数周恢复正常。     

Ampulla cardiomyopathy with delayed recovery of microvascular stunning: a case report

A 71-year old woman with schizophrenia was admitted to our hospital on November 26, 2002 under a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction because of ST segment elevation in leads V2-V5 and positive serum cardiac troponin T level. Emergent coronary angiography showed no significant stenosis, but left ventriculography demonstrated apical ballooning and basal hyperkinesis. The final diagnosis was ampulla cardiomyopathy. Myocardial contrast echocardiography during the acute phase revealed an echocontrast defect consistent with the area of apical ballooning. The condition improved gradually as determined by disappearance of the abnormal wall motion. The coronary flow reserve in the left anterior descending artery measured by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography was decreased at 1.5 in the acute phase and gradually recovered over a period of 3 months (23 days, 1.9; 96 days, 2.9). Microvascular stunning defined as decreased coronary flow reserve was observed and recovery was delayed in this case compared with cases of myocardial stunning. These findings are of interest in evaluating the pathophysiology of ampulla cardiomyopathy.