[Transient left ventricular dysfunction: special form of stress cardiomyopathy]. / Reverzibilis, stressz indukálta cardiomyopathiak.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The phenomenon of stress induced left ventricular dysfunction has been long recognised. A special reversible form of it, characterized by left ventricular apical dilatation, is the so-called "tako-tsubo" or ampoule cardiomyopathy, based on its first description by Sato et al. in 1990. The tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and stress cardiomyopathy are considered almost equivalent in the referring publications. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patient data between 2002 and 2007 these patients suffered from transient left ventricular dysfunction and coronary artery disease and myocarditis were disclosed. RESULTS: 6 female patients between 55 and 80 years. In 5 of 6 cases the different forms of stress could be found before the patients were admitted to our department. CONCLUSIONS: The presented cases shed light to the fact that the apical dilatation of the left ventricle is only one of the possible presentations of stress induced cardiomyopathy. The main feature of this entity is not the tako-tsubo-like left ventricular dilatation, which is not always present, but the almost universal QT prolongation and negative T waves. These ECG features come a few days after the appearance of the reversible left ventricular dysfunction.