A 44-year-old Japanese woman presented with a 5-day history of dry cough, nausea and diarrhea. She also complained of chest pain, and headache for an hour prior to the arrival. Past medical history revealed one abortion but no coronary risk factors. On examination, she was in mild confusion (Glasgow Coma Scale of E4V5M6) and afebrile. The vital signs included the blood pressure of 85/56mmHg, th...

AIMS We report a case of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) resulting in transient apical ballooning syndrome to highlight this rare condition as a potential complication of DSE. BACKGROUND Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or transient apical ballooning syndrome, is a recently described form of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction induced by stress. Clinically it can mimic acute coronary syndrome...

www.turner-white.com T akotsubo cardiomyopathy is a nonischemic cardiomyopathy characterized by reversible left ventricular dysfunction that is seen predominantly in postmenopausal women. Also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, broken heart syndrome, and transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome, it classically presents with signs and symptoms similar to those of an acute coron...

Background Although recent development of screw instrumentation techniques for rigid fixation of the atlantoaxial joint has increased surgical options, patients in whom screws of any type cannot be safely placed are sometimes encountered. We present a unique surgical technique for C1-2 transarticular screw placement utilizing a novel trajectory. Methods A 35-year-old male with a history of Do...

Brevetoxins are lipophilic polyether toxins produced by the red tide dinoflagellate Gymnodinium breve, and their neurotoxic effects on adult animals have been documented. In this study, we characterized adverse developmental effects of brevetoxin-1 (PbTx-1) using an exposure paradigm that parallels the maternal oocyte transfer of toxin. Medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) embryos were exposed to PbTx...

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC), also called stress cardiomyopathy, apical ballooning syndrome or broken heart syndrome, is a syndrome characterized by transient regional systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV), mimicking myocardial infarction (MI), but in the absence of evidence of angiographic significant obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) or acute plaque rupture. In most cases o...

Background: Most studies have failed to identify significant sex differences in movement (or activity) during fetal development. However, the sample sizes and lengths of time fetuses were monitored in these studies have been limited. Aim and methods: Using the recollections provided by a sample of 6,546 mothers, this study examines variations in fetal activity levels for every month of pregnanc...

BACKGROUND Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome, ampulla cardiomyopathy, or transient left ventricular dysfunction is characterized by chest pain, electrocardiographic changes, transient left ventricular apical aneurysm, and normal coronary arteries. Takotsubo is a round-bottomed, narrow-necked Japanese octopus trap and lends its name to takotsubo ...

To the Editor: The interesting case report of Lee et al. published in the December 2013 issue of the Journal, of a 43-year-old woman who suffered inverted takotsubo syndrome (TTS) (left ventricular apical hyperkinesis with midventricular and basal hypokinesis/akinesis) in the setting of complicating pulmonary embolism (PE), following surgery for a malleolar fracture, managed surgically under sp...

A 79-year-old white woman with known hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) presented with sudden-onset chest pain and no identifiable stressor. Examination suggested a new apical 3/6 systolic murmur and pulmonary edema. A 12-lead electrocardiogram showed anterolateral wall ischemia. The patient’s peak troponin T level was 2.5 ng/mL. Echocardiography revealed a basal hypertrophied septu...