Broken heart syndrome--a critical review of transient left ventricular apical ballooning.

Transient left ventricular apical ballooning (TLVAB) is a recently proposed clinical entity that mimics an acute coronary syndrome in its clinical presentation. Retrospective studies suggest that it may account for 1% of myocardial infarction diagnoses. We provide a review of TLVAB including its clinical presentation, diagnostic studies, etiology, pathogenesis, criticism, complications, and management.