The InterTAK Registry for Takotsubo Syndrome

Extract

Insights from the largest-ever Registry on Takotsubo syndrome 

The ‘Broken Heart’ Takotsubo Syndrome

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS), also known as ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’, was first described by Japanese cardiologists in 1990.¹ They termed this syndrome ‘Takotsubo’, describing the resemblance of the left ventricle to an earthenware pot with a narrow neck and bulbous body that was historically used to catch octopus. Although it is a quarter of a century since TTS was first described it is still not fully understood. The enormous interest in this disease is best reflected by the increasing numbers of publications on TTS during the last years (Figure 1).

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The characteristic findings of TTS are, acute left ventricular dysfunction which is associated with one of the four different wall motion patterns, namely, apical ballooning as well as mid-ventricular, basal and focal forms. Affected patients show a female preponderance and present with symptoms and signs similar to acute coronary syndrome (ACS): chest pain, dyspnoea, syncope, ECG abnormalities, and cardiac enzyme changes. Because the disease presentation is so similar to a classic acute myocardial infarction, the diagnosis can be difficult to make. In order to differentiate it from myocardial infarction, it is necessary to perform coronary angiography and a left ventricular angiogram during the acute stage.²