International Expert Consensus Document on Takotsubo Syndrome (Part I): Clinical Characteristics, Diagnostic Criteria, and Pathophysiology

This study was designed to define more completely the clinical spectrum and consequences of stress cardiomyopathy (SC) beyond the acute event. Stress cardiomyopathy is a recently recognized condition characterized by transient cardiac dysfunction with ventricular ballooning. Clinical profile and outcome were prospectively assessed in 136 consecutive SC patients. Patients were predominantly women (n = 130; 96%), but 6 were men (4%). Ages were 32 to 94 years (mean age 68 +/- 13 years); 13 (10%) were 2 months in 5%. Right and/or left ventricular thrombi were identified in 5 patients (predominantly by CMR imaging), including 2 with embolic events. Three patients (2%) died in-hospital and 116 (85%) have survived, including 5% with nonfatal recurrent SC events. All-cause mortality during follow-up exceeded a matched general population (p = 0.016) with most deaths occurring in the first year. In this large SC cohort, the clinical spectrum was heterogeneous with about one-third either male,

To determine whether the onset of myocardial infarction occurs randomly throughout the day, we analyzed the time of onset of pain in 2999 patients admitted with myocardial infarction. A marked circadian rhythm in the frequency of onset was detected, with a peak from 6 a.m. to noon (P less than 0.01). In 703 of the patients, the time of the first elevation in the plasma creatine kinase MB (CK-MB) level could be used to time the onset of myocardial infarction objectively. CK-MB-estimated timing confirmed the existence of a circadian rhythm, with a three-fold increase in the frequency of onset of myocardial infarction at peak (9 a.m.) as compared with trough (11 p.m.) periods. The circadian rhythm was not detected in patients receiving beta-adrenergic blocking agents before myocardial infarction but was present in those not receiving such therapy. If coronary arteries become vulnerable to occlusion when the intima covering an atherosclerotic plaque is disrupted, the circadian timing of myocardial infarction may result from a variation in the tendency to thrombosis. If the rhythmic processes that drive the circadian rhythm of myocardial-infarction onset can be identified, their modification may delay or prevent the occurrence of infarction.

To determine the clinical features of a novel heart syndrome with transient left ventricular (LV) apical ballooning, but without coronary artery stenosis, that mimics acute myocardial infarction, we performed a multicenter retrospective enrollment study. Only several case presentations have been reported with regard to this syndrome. We analyzed 88 patients (12 men and 76 women), aged 67 +/- 13 years, who fulfilled the following criteria: 1) transient LV apical ballooning, 2) no significant angiographic stenosis, and 3) no known cardiomyopathies. Thirt-eight (43%) patients had preceding aggravation of underlying disorders (cerebrovascular accident [n = 3], epilepsy [n = 3], exacerbated bronchial asthma [n = 3], acute abdomen [n = 7]) and noncardiac surgery or medical procedure (n = 11) at the onset. Twenty-four (27%) patients had emotional and physical problems (sudden accident [n = 2], death/funeral of a family member [n = 7], inexperience with exercise [n = 6], quarreling or excessive alcohol consumption [n = 5] and vigorous excitation [n = 4]). Chest symptoms (67%), electrocardiographic changes (ST elevation [90%], Q-wave formation [27%] and T-wave inversion [97%]) and elevated creatine kinase (56%) were found. After treatment of pulmonary edema (22%), cardiogenic shock (15%) and ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (9%), 85 patients had class I New York Heart Association function on discharge. The LV ejection fraction improved from 41 +/- 11% to 64 +/- 10%. Transient intraventricular pressure gradient and provocative vasospasm were documented in 13/72 (18%) and 10/48 (21%) of the patients, respectively. During follow-up for 13 +/- 14 months, two patients showed recurrence, and one died suddenly. A novel cardiomyopathy with transient apical ballooning was reported. Emotional or physical stress might play a key role in this cardiomyopathy, but the precise etiologic basis still remains unclear.