A True Case of a Broken Heart With Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

Michelle Wallen; Graham E Kupsaw; Latha Ganti

doi:10.7759/cureus.21337

A True Case of a Broken Heart With Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

Cureus. 2022 Jan 17;14(1):e21337. doi: 10.7759/cureus.21337. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Authors

Michelle Wallen¹, Graham E Kupsaw², Latha Ganti^{3

1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Emergency Medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, USA.
² Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, USA.
³ Emergency Medicine, Envision Physician Services, Plantation, USA.
⁴ Emergency Medicine, HCA Healthcare Graduate Medical Education Consortium Emergency Medicine Residency Program of Greater Orlando, Orlando, USA.

Abstract

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient regional systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV) and mimics myocardial infarction. The LV displays a systolic apical ballooning appearance in this particular cardiomyopathy. This case demonstrated a patient with true stress-induced cardiomyopathy or "broken heart," presenting to the emergency room with chest pain mimicking a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Keywords: cardiomyopathies; heart ventricles; left ventricle; takotsubo cardiomyopathy; ventricular dysfunction.

Publication types

Case Reports