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Circulation. 2005;111:472-479
doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000153801.51470.EB
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(Circulation. 2005;111:472-479.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.


Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Acute and Reversible Cardiomyopathy Provoked by Stress in Women From the United States

Scott W. Sharkey, MD; John R. Lesser, MD; Andrey G. Zenovich, MSc; Martin S. Maron, MD; Jana Lindberg, RT; Terrence F. Longe, MD; Barry J. Maron, MD

From the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (S.W.S., J.R.L., A.G.Z., J.L., T.F.L., B.J.M.), Minneapolis, Minn, and Division of Cardiology (M.S.M.), Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Mass.

Correspondence to Barry J. Maron, MD, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, 920 E 28th St, Suite 60, Minneapolis, MN 55407. E-mail hcm.maron{at}mhif.org

Received August 31, 2004; revision received November 1, 2004; accepted November 10, 2004.

Background— A clinical entity characterized by acute but rapidly reversible left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and triggered by psychological stress is emerging, with reports largely confined to Japan.

Methods and Results— Over a 32-month period, 22 consecutive patients with this novel cardiomyopathy were prospectively identified within a community-based practice in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minn, area. All patients were women aged 32 to 89 years old (mean 65±13 years); 21 (96%) were ≥50 years of age. The syndrome is characterized by (1) acute substernal chest pain with ST-segment elevation and/or T-wave inversion; (2) absence of significant coronary arterial narrowing by angiography; (3) systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction 29±9%), with abnormal wall motion of the mid and distal LV, ie, "apical ballooning"; and (4) profound psychological stress (eg, death of relatives, domestic abuse, arguments, catastrophic medical diagnoses, devastating financial or gambling losses) immediately preceding and triggering the cardiac events. A significant proportion of patients (37%) had hemodynamic compromise and required vasopressor agents and intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation. Each patient survived with normalized ejection fraction (63±6%; P<0.001) and rapid restoration to previous functional cardiovascular status within 6±3 days. In 95%, MRI identified diffusely distributed segmental wall-motion abnormalities that encompassed LV myocardium in multiple coronary arterial vascular territories.

Conclusions— A reversible cardiomyopathy triggered by psychologically stressful events occurs in older women and may mimic evolving acute myocardial infarction or coronary syndrome. This condition is characterized by a distinctive form of systolic dysfunction that predominantly affects the distal LV chamber and a favorable outcome with appropriate medical therapy.


Key Words: cardiomyopathy • magnetic resonance imaging • angiography • heart failure • women


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