Kounis Syndrome: Is it Really a Takotsubo-Like Syndrome?

Kounis Syndrome: Is it Really a Takotsubo-Like Syndrome?

Takotsubo and Kounis syndrome: is there any association?

To the Editor: In the very interesting paper concerning takotsubo and long QT syndrome, published recently in the Journal,1 the authors concluded that many questions regarding the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of this syndrome remain unanswered and have asked for further studies in order to elucidate these issues. This follows previous appeals for worldwide efforts and research in or...

Is the metabolic syndrome a real syndrome? Metabolic Syndrome Is It a Syndrome? Does It Matter?

To provide useful answers to the title questions, the first issue to resolve is what is meant by the term “metabolic syndrome.” If it is supposed to refer to a loose clustering of signs that are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus, which can largely be ascribed to what we conceptually call “insulin resistance,” then the term may have some utility. However, ...

Allergic acute coronary syndrome (Kounis syndrome).

Anaphylaxis rarely manifests as a vasospastic acute coronary syndrome with or without the presence of underlying coronary artery disease. The variability in the underlying pathogenesis produces a wide clinical spectrum of this syndrome. We present three cases of anaphylactic acute coronary syndrome that display different clinical variants of this phenomenon. The main pathophysiological mechanis...

Takotsubo Syndrome

T akotsubo syndrome (TTS) is an acute heart failure syndrome that predominantly affects post-menopausal women. It is characterized by substantial morbidity and mortality, which equal those of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and are still underappreciated (1). TTS and ACS share many clinical features on admission, and an estimated 1% to 2% of all patients with suspected ACS are finally diagnosed ...