Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: A Case of ‘Broken-Heart Syndrome' in the OR

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) was first described in Japan approximately 20 years ago. The syndrome is a rarely diagnosed set of symptoms that includes an acute onset of chest pain or dyspnea, transient cardiac dysfunction that frequently has reversible wall motion abnormalities, but is without any significant obstructive coronary artery disease. It is also commonly referred to as ‘stress-induced cardiomyopathy' or as ‘broken-heart' syndrome. The majority of the documented cases of TC have an antecedent event of extreme emotional stress or some other type of catecholamine surge.