Increased ventricular wall stress and late gadolinium enhancement in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Marine omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids: From mechanisms to clinical implications in heart failure and arrhythmias

Therapeutic implications of marine omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) in cardiovascular disease are still discussed controversially. Several clinical trials report divergent findings and thus leave ambiguity on the meaning of oral omega-3 therapy. Potential prognostic indications of HUFA treatment have been predominantly studied in coronary artery disease, sudden cardiac death, ventricular arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation and heart failure of various origin. It is suspected that increased ventricular wall stress is crucially involved in the prognosis of heart failure. Increased wall stress and an unfavorable myocardial remodeling is associated with an increased risk of arrhythmias by stretch-activated membrane ion channels. Integration of HUFA into the microenvironment of cardiomyocyte ion channels lead to allosteric changes and increase the electrical stability. Increased ventricular wall stress appears to be involved in the local myocardial as well as in the hepatic fatty acid metabolism, i.e. a cardio-hepatic syndrome. Influences of an altered endogenous HUFA metabolism and an inverse shift of the fatty acid profile was underrated in the past. A better understanding of these interacting endogenous mechanisms appears to be required for interpreting the findings of recent experimental and clinical studies. The present article critically reviews major studies on basic pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment effects in clinical trials.

Coronary vasospasm is an unlikely cause of Takotsubo syndrome, although we should keep an open mind

This viewpoint pertains to the still elusive pathophysiology of the Takotsubo syndrome (TTS), maintaining the position that this affliction is not the result of coronary vasospasm (CV) involving one or more coronary arteries. Although CV has been rarely encountered in the acute stage of TTS, or elicited via provocative testing in the subacute stage of the disease, it does not appear to be the cause of TTS as shown by the bulk of the published relevant literature. The author provides some speculations to explain the spontaneous appearance of CV, or its artificial elicitation, in some patients with TTS. However while we are striving to unravel the pathophysiology of TTS, we should keep an open mind about a possible role for CV in the causation of TTS.