An unusual case of mid-ventricular Takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Forme Fruste in Recurring Mid-Ventricular Variant of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is characterized as acute left ventricular dysfunction precipitated by intense emotional or physiological stress. The mid-ventricular variant of TC usually has akinesis, with or without ballooning of the mid-ventricular segment, and a hyperdynamic base and apex. Recurrence of the typical and atypical (reversed and mid-ventricular type) forms has been reported in only a very small number of cases. We report a forme fruste presentation of mid-ventricular variant of TC. CASE REPORT A 69-year-old woman with a prior history of stress-induced cardiomyopathy presented with complaint of moderate intensity, persistent, sub-sternal chest discomfort. She reported that her symptoms were similar to those she had during a previous hospitalization in 2015, and this time cited the death of her mother as an inciting stressor. No significant obstructive flow-limiting coronary artery disease was found on cardiac catheterization. However, the left ventriculogram was suggestive of mid-ventricular pattern of TC. Her first symptomatic episode of apparent TC did not reveal completion of the mid-ventricular pattern of the TC variant. The subsequent episode, during this hospitalization, manifested as a completed version of her initial apparent forme fruste of mid-ventricular variant of TC. CONCLUSIONS TC may present in a myriad of clinical forms that must be considered in the evaluation of patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes or cardiomyopathy. Treatment is mainly supportive, and recurrence rates range from 7.7% to 11.4%. To the best of our knowledge, this forme fruste presentation has not been previously reported in recurrent variants of TC.

Serotonin norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor (SNRI)-, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (S-NRI)-, and exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced takotsubo syndrome: Analysis of published cases

BACKGROUND

Takotsubo syndrome (TS) may be triggered by numerous physical stress factors including exogenous Norepinephrine administration. The aim of this study is to report on the clinical features and outcome of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI)-, selective NRI (S-NRI)-, and exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced TS in a largest possible cohort of published cases.

METHODS

A computer assisted search of the electronic data base Pubmed was performed from 1990 to August 2016. All cases deemed to have SNRI-, S-NRI-, and norepinephrine-induced TS were retrieved.

RESULTS

Twenty two cases of SNRI-, S-NRI-, and norepinephrine-induced TS were retrieved from the literature. At presentation, the 22 patients with TS were 11 to 82years of age (mean age 49.9±20years). Seventeen of 21 (81%) of the patients were women. The most common presenting symptom was chest pain, which occurred in 59% of cases. The TS localization pattern was apical in 68%, mid-ventricular in 13.6%, basal in 13.6% and global in 4.5% of cases. Complications occurred in 7 of 22 (32%) with more complications in exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced TS (4 of 6, 66.7%) than SNRI-, and S-NRI-induced TS (3 of 16, 18, 8%) (p=0.054). All 4 male patients in the study developed complications. One patient (exogenous norepinephrine-induced TS) died during hospitalization.

CONCLUSION

The SNRI-, and S-NRI-induced TS have clinical features, complications and course comparable to that of all-TS population cohorts, whereas the exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced TS has a more dramatic clinical presentation and complication rates, which resembles that of exogenously administered epinephrine-induced TS.

A case of thalamic hemorrhage with takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Case

A 76-year-old woman was found unconscious by her family. She had suffered a fall and was soaked in kerosene. On arrival at our emergency department, she was unconscious, normotensive, with right hemiplegia and chemical burns. A computed tomographic scan of her head indicated left thalamic hemorrhage. An electrocardiogram showed ST elevation at the precardial leads. An echocardiogram revealed characteristic of takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Outcome

The patient was intubated and treated conservatively. She was transferred to another hospital for rehabilitation after complete epithelization of the chemical burn. This is the second reported case of thalamic hemorrhage with takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The thalamic hemorrhage might have induced autonomic disturbances and caused the takotsubo cardiomyopathy in this case.

Conclusion

Physicians should pay attention to the potential complication of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which may affect cardiopulmonary function even when patients are being treated for intracerebral hemorrhage.

Initial clinical presentation of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy with-a focus on electrocardiographic changes: A literature review of cases

AIM: To review the initial presentation and demonstrate the importance of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

METHODS: A PubMed search using the terms “Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC)” and “apical ballooning syndrome” yielded 211 publications. Only those that were relevant were fully reviewed. The gender, age, precipitating stressor, main complaint at presentation, electrocardiogram (ECG) at admission and serum cardiac markers of patients diagnosed with TC, were extracted as available. The data were organized in tables and graphics, and the incidence of the disorder was calculated and analyzed.

RESULTS: A total of 250 clinical cases were examined. The predominant gender that was affected was female, with a prevalence of 87.5%. The mean age of presentation was 64 ± 14 years. The cases were divided by age into 10-year intervals. The age interval of 60-69 years showed the highest frequency of TC, accounting for 79 cases. The most common precipitating stressor was physical (50% of cases). Chest pain was the primary complaint at presentation (58.8% of cases) followed by dyspnea (30% of cases). The ST segment changes category was the most common (60%), followed by T wave changes (39.6%). Of the 60% of cases with ST segment changes, 12% had concomitant T wave changes. This means that for 27.6% of the cases, the primary abnormality in the ECG was T wave changes; 87.6% of cases with TC had a change in the ST segment, in the T wave or in both. The percentage of ECGs presenting with changes in the anterior wall was 54.4% (35.6% of ST segment elevation + 1.6% of ST segment depression + 17.2% of T wave inversion). The percentage of patients presenting with changes in the lateral segment of the heart was 46.8%, while the percentage of patients with changes in the inferior heart was 21.6% and the percentage of patients with changes in the apical region was only 16%. The prevalence of elevated creatinine kinase and/or troponin on initial presentation was 89.3%.

CONCLUSION: It is essential that every physician consider Takotsubo cardiomyopathy as a possible differential diagnosis when a patient is classified with acute coronary syndrome. To do so, it is necessary to know the clinical presentation of this syndrome in its early stages.

Relationship between repolarization abnormalities and myocardial edema in atypical Tako-Tsubo syndrome

In typical "apical" Tako-Tsubo syndrome (TTS), an association between dynamic T-wave inversion/QTc interval prolongation and myocardial edema as evidenced by cardiac magnetic resonance has been reported. We describe a patient with atypical "mid-ventricular" TTS who showed T-waves inversion/QTc prolongation confined to the lateral leads. Cardiac magnetic resonance revealed transmural myocardial edema with the highest signal intensity in the mid-lateral wall, in accordance with the ECG location of repolarization abnormalities. This finding indicates that the association of dynamic T-wave inversion/QTc interval prolongation with myocardial edema is demonstrable also in atypical variant of TTS and contributes to support the emerging concept of a cause-effect relationship between transient myocardial edema and dynamic repolarization changes.

Occurrence of Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy in association with ingestion of serotonin/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors

Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) occurs particularly in post-menopausal women, being precipitated in many cases by severe emotional stress. We describe six patients in whom TTC occurred in association with therapeutic ingestion or overdose of the serotonin/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine, or its metabolite desvenlafaxine. Importantly, two of the six cases were not post-menopausal women. An increased risk of TTC may account for some of the reported cardiovascular adverse effects of venlafaxine and similar agents.