Coronary balloon angioplasty in a severe takotsubo syndrome

ABSTRACTWe reported a patient with Takotsubo syndrome, with severe symptoms, prolonged angina with hemodynamic compromise, in the context of severe coronary artery spasm, without response to full medical treatment, which was successfully managed with coronary balloon angioplasty. A 49-year old woman was admitted with chest pain, ECG changes and elevated myocardial necrosis markers suggestive for acute coronary syndrome. First coronary angiography revealed normal epicardial arteries and typical left ventricular apical ballooning, strongly suggestive for Takotsubo syndrome. Forty-eight hours later, with standard medical treatment, patient developed again severe angina with hemodynamic consequences. Second angiography showed total occlusive spasm of one coronary artery, without response to full medical treatment. Coronary balloon angioplasty was performed with final good result. Two month later, angiography revealed normal coronary arteries and normal ventricular shape. The patient is currently asymptomatic.As far as we know, no other examples of similar cases were published in medical literature. Therefore, interventional treatment can be taken into consideration for some particular types of patients with Takotsubo syndrome, non-responsive to medical treatment; despite of balloon angioplasty or stenting of coronary vasospasm is not a standard of care.