Stress cardiomyopathy: transient basal ballooning

• Published in: Journal of cardiovascular medicine (Hagerstown, Md.) Vol. 11; no. 10; pp. 764 - 767
• Main Authors: Cacciotti, Luca, Camastra, Giovanni S, Musarò, Salvatore, Proietti, Igino, Semeraro, Raffaella, Martina, Cristina, Lupparelli, Fabrizio, Ansalone, Gerardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Italian Federation of Cardiology 01-10-2010
• Subjects: Cardiovascular Agents - therapeutic use; Coronary Angiography; Drug Therapy, Combination; Echocardiography; Electrocardiography; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Myocardial Contraction; Recovery of Function; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy - classification; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy - diagnosis; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy - drug therapy; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy - physiopathology; Treatment Outcome; Ventricular Function, Left
• ISSN: 1558-2027; 1558-2035
• DOI: 10.2459/JCM.0b013e328334466c

Stress cardiomyopathy is a reversible left ventricular dysfunction triggered by emotional stress. We describe a variant of transient left ventricular ballooning in a patient in which basal and midventricular segments are affected. This confirms that there is not just one ventricular dysfunction pattern in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The involvement of only the basal and midventricle segments is an intriguing observation with no clear explanation; furthermore, there are no predictive factors for the differently sited wall motion abnormalities.