Transient Left Ventricular Apical Ballooning (Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy): Mimicking Acute Coronary Syndrome

Transient left ventricular apical dyskinesia accompanied by chest pain, mimicking acute coronary syndrome, dynamic reversible ST-T segment abnormalities, minimal myocardial enzymes release disproportionate to the extent of dyskinesia,in the absence of obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease is characteristic of transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome.1 It was first described in the Japanese literature in 1991 by Dote and colleagues, who proposed the term “Takotsubo cardiomyopathy”, after a Japanese fishing pot used for trapping octopus, on the basis of the peculiar appearance of a rounded bottom and narrow neck on the end-systolic left ventriculogram (Fig.-1).2 This article describes the condition called transient left ventricle apical ballooning syndrome, otherwise known as: • Takotsubo cardiomyopathy • Stress cardiomyopathy • Ampulla cardiomyopathy • Broken Heart syndrome or • Transient left ventricular dysfunction