Postoperative Takotsubo syndrome with severe left ventricular dysfunction following mitral valve replacement

Takotsubo syndrome was first described in Japan in late 1989 and early 1990 and featured a group of patients with transient apical dyskinesia and preservation of basal left-ventricular contractility, which resembled the vessel used by fishermen to catch octopus. It is usually seen in situations involving catecholamine release and its clinical picture mimics that of acute myocardial infarction. The case presented occurs, surprisingly, in the postoperative period of cardiovascular surgery and is probably the first one found in this circumstance in Cuba: perioperative ischemia after mitral valve replacement, which recovered within nearly 72 hours, although complete recovery occurred later. Angiographic images are shown.