INTRODUCTION The apical ballooning syndrome (ABS) is a single reversible cardiomyopathy often triggered by a stressful event. We aimed to present a case report regarding this disorder. CASE PRESENTATION Here we present the case of a 77-year-old female hypertensive patient, sedentary and non-smoker, diagnosed with apical ballooning syndrome. We describe the clinical signs and symptoms, changes...

I read with interest the abstract by Sta. Cruz and Codolosa 1 published recently in CHEST (March 2014), about a diabetic patient with recurrent isolated right ventricular Takotsubo syndrome in the setting of diabetic ketoacidosis and pulmonary aspiration. The authors ascribe the recurrent Takotsubo syndrome in their patient to dysautonomia, as inferred from the bradycardia and the “elevated pre...

OBJECTIVES The present study was designed to delineate and compare the clinical characteristics of patients with apical and non-apical takotsubo syndrome in a high-volume U.S. hospital. BACKGROUND A comparison between apical and non-apical variants of the "broken heart," or takotsubo syndrome, has not been performed in the United States. METHODS From 2004 through 2007, patients with takotsu...

Considerable controversy exists regarding the cardiovascular safety of COX-2 inhibitors, both in patients with and without established cardiovascular disease. Currently, the major focus is on thrombotic complications presenting as myocardial infarction. I n this report, we present a case of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as the apical ballooning syndrome, precipitated by the use of lumira...