Discrimination of stress (Takotsubo) cardiomyopathy from acute coronary syndrome with clinical risk factors and coronary evaluation in real-world clinical practice

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of in-hospital complications and overall mortality in Takotsubo syndrome preceded by physical triggers

BACKGROUND

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) with physical triggers has worse short- and long-term clinical courses than those with emotional triggers. However, predictive factors associated with poor outcomes of TTS with physical triggers are unknown.

METHODS

We included 231 patients identified as TTS preceded by physical triggers at two tertiary referral hospitals from 2010 to 2019. In-hospital complications (IHC)-a composite of malignant arrhythmia, need for mechanical circulatory support or mechanical ventilation, and in-hospital death-and overall mortality were retrospectively reviewed. The associations with clinical features were evaluated by multivariable logistic and Cox regression analyses.

RESULTS

The mean age was 69.3 ± 11.6 years, and 85 (36.8%) were male. The in-hospital complications rate was 46.8%. During a median follow-up of 883 days, 96 (41.6%) had died, and overall mortality was 13.6% per patient-year. Higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was associated with a higher risk of IHC (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.73; positive and negative predictive value = 60.9% and 67.2% for NLR ≤ 12); odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was 1.03 (1.01-1.05), p = 0.010. Subsequently, higher NLR was also related to a greater risk of overall mortality; patients with high NLR (NLR > 12) exhibited poor long-term survival than those with low NLR (NLR ≤ 5): hazard ratio (95% CI), 3.70 (1.72-7.94) with p < 0.001.

CONCLUSIONS

A high NLR at initial presentation is associated with an increased risk of IHC and overall mortality in TTS preceded by physical triggers. Given that the treatment of TTS is mainly supportive, intensive monitoring with careful follow-up would be warranted in patients with high NLR.

In-hospital Takotsubo syndrome versus in-hospital acute myocardial infarction among patients admitted for non-cardiac diseases: a nationwide inpatient database study

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occasionally occur during hospitalization for non-cardiac diseases. However, no study has compared the clinical characteristics between in-hospital TTS and AMI. Using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in Japan between 2010 and 2014, we retrospectively identified eligible inpatients who were admitted for non-cardiac diseases and developed TTS (n = 230) or AMI (n = 611) as an early in-hospital complication diagnosed by coronary angiography within 7 days after admission. We examined factors associated with developing in-hospital TTS or AMI using multivariable logistic regression. We also compared 30-day and overall in-hospital mortality between patients with TTS and AMI using 1:1 propensity score matching. Despite similar age (72.7 ± 12.4 vs. 72.8 ± 10.4 years), patients with TTS were more often female (63.5 vs. 32.9%) and underweight (24.8 vs. 14.1%) and were more likely to have had impaired activities of daily living (ADL) and impaired consciousness than those with AMI. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that female sex [adjusted odds ratio: 4.16 (95% confidence interval: 2.73-6.34)], impaired ADL [2.33 (1.18-4.60)], chronic pulmonary disease [3.33 (1.49-7.44)], and pneumonia [3.00 (1.81-4.98)] were associated with developing TTS relative to AMI, while overweight status, aortic disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, and dyslipidemia were associated with developing AMI relative to TTS. Propensity score-matched analysis (189 pairs) showed that 30-day in-hospital mortality was not significantly different between patients with TTS and AMI (15.3 vs. 19.0%, p = 0.41), but overall in-hospital mortality was significantly lower in patients with TTS than in those with AMI (19.6 vs. 29.1%, p = 0.041). This study suggests that although in-hospital TTS and in-hospital AMI are similarly likely to occur in older patients, in-hospital TTS is more likely to occur in female patients with impaired ADL and/or respiratory disease and carries a similar 30-day mortality risk but a lower overall in-hospital mortality risk compared with in-hospital AMI. Our results indicate the importance of differentiating TTS from AMI in hospital settings.

Prevalence and risk factors for postoperative stress-related cardiomyopathy in adults

Stress-related cardiomyopathy can develop during the postoperative period due to surgery-related stress factors. However, the prevalence and risk factors for this condition are not yet known. During a retrospective, observational study, patients older than 19 years who underwent procedures from January 2011 to December 2015 at a tertiary hospital were included. The main aim was to identify the prevalence and related risk factors for postoperative stress-related cardiomyopathy. To estimate the incidence per risk factor, univariate and multivariate Poisson regression analyses were performed. During the 5-year period, 95,840 patients older than 19 years underwent 125,314 procedures, and the prevalence of postoperative stress-related cardiomyopathy was 17.74 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval, 9.31–26.17), with an in-hospital mortality of 23.5%. As a result, three risk factors were significantly associated: preoperative American Society of Anesthesiologists classification (incidence rate ratio, 5.901 for American Society of Anesthesiologists class 1–2 [ref] versus 3–6; 95% confidence interval,1.289–27.002; P = 0.022); preoperative body mass index (incidence rate ratio, 1.247 for increases of 18.5 [ref] to 30; 95% confidence interval, 1.067–1.458; P = 0.006); and preoperative serum sodium (incidence rate ratio, 0.830 for each increase of 10 mmol/L from 130; 95% confidence interval, 0.731–0.942; P = 0.004). The incidence rate ratio for age for each increase of 10 years from 50 years was 1.057, but it was not statistically significant (P = 0.064). Our study found that the prevalence of postoperative stress-related cardiomyopathy was 17.74 patients per 100,000 adult patients over the course of 5 years, with four cases of in-hospital mortality. Factors that increased the risk of postoperative stress-related cardiomyopathy included higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class (≥3), preoperative hyponatremia, and higher preoperative body mass index.

Basal wall hypercontraction of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a patient who had been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy: a case report

BACKGROUND

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by the basal hypercontractility and apical ballooning of the left ventriculum and T-wave inversion in the electrocardiogram. It has been suggested that Takotsubo cardiomyopathy might underlie the pathogenesis of persistent cardiac dysfunction; however, few reports are present demonstrating the advent of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 64-year-old women was admitted due to dyspnea on effort and lower extremity edema. She had been diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy 2.5 years before owing to the reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (24%), normal coronary artery, and interstitial fibrosis of the myocardial samples. On admission, her electrocardiogram showed giant negative T wave in II, III, aVF, and precordial leads. Echocardiography showed dyskinesis of the left ventricular apex and hypercontraction of the basal wall, which had not been observed in the previous examinations. Coronary angiography showed normal coronary arteries, and apical ballooning and basal hypercontractility was confirmed by left ventriculography. On day 15 of admission, contraction of apical wall was recovered, and basal hypercontraction was disappeared.

CONCLUSION

The present case is the first report demonstrating appearance the transient basal wall hypercontraction along with the advent of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a patient diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. Whether such findings are indicative of fair prognosis and have the utility of understanding the pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy needs further investigation.

Seasonal variation in patient characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of Takotsubo syndrome: a nationwide retrospective cohort study in Japan

Although there is reportedly seasonal variation in the occurrence of Takotsubo syndrome (TTS), it is unknown whether there is a relationship between season and patient characteristics, or whether season influences outcomes. Using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in Japan, we retrospectively identified 4306 patients (mean age 73.6 years) hospitalized with TTS between January 2011 and December 2013. We divided patients into four groups according to season of admission [n = 914, Spring (March-May); n = 1243, Summer (June-August); n = 1245, Autumn (September-November); n = 904, Winter (December-February)]. The outcomes were in-hospital mortality and cardiovascular complications. We compared patient backgrounds and outcomes across seasons and estimated the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for outcomes in logistic regression analyses adjusted for multiple propensity scores. Although there was no significant difference in age across seasons, the proportion of males differed significantly (from 18.5% in autumn to 23.9% in winter; p = 0.016). The incidence of psychiatric disease (from 4.9% in spring to 7.9% in summer; p = 0.025) and sepsis (from 0.8% in winter to 2.6% in summer; p = 0.019) also differed significantly with season. In-hospital mortality was not significantly influenced by season (p = 0.377): spring, 5.1%; summer, 6.0%; autumn, 4.6%; winter, 6.0%. However, in-hospital mortality ranged widely across months from 3.0% in September to 7.5% in April. The incidence of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation was significantly different (p = 0.038): spring, 2.2% (reference); summer, 3.3% (aOR 1.46, 95% CI 0.84-2.51); autumn, 2.7% (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 0.72-2.22); winter, 4.4% (aOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.11-3.33). Although season did not appear to influence the in-hospital mortality of TTS, monthly variation may exist in the risk of death in patients with TTS. There were significant seasonal variations in the proportions of males, patients with psychiatric disease or sepsis, and the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias among patients with TTS.