Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), also known as apical ballooning syndrome, broken heart syndrome, or stressinduced
cardiomyopathy, is defined as a transient disturbance of the left ventricle, which is quite often associated with
electrocardiographic abnormalities that may mimic acute myocardial infarction. The syndrome is also characterized by
a mild alteration of cardiac biomarkers in absence of coronary blood flow obstruction on the coronariography. Clinical
presentation is often manifested by angina, dyspnea, syncope, and arrhythmias. Peculiarly, the left ventricle takes the
form of “tako-tsubo†(a Japanese word for “octopus trapâ€) on the imaging workup. The authors report the case of a
post-menopausal, hypertensive, dyslipidemic and type-II diabetic woman admitted at the emergency service with acute
chest pain post physical exertion. Electrocardiogram showed signs of ischemia and myocardial necrosis markers were mildly
increased. Echocardiography and ventriculography showed apical and mid-ventricular akinesia, with mild atherosclerotic
coronary lesions. Thus diagnostic workup and the outcome followed the diagnostic criteria for TTC. The authors called
attention to the potential of overlooking this diagnosis, since this syndrome is still not widely recognized.
