IMR Press / RCM / Volume 23 / Issue 6 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2306184
Open Access Review
TakoTsubo Syndrome: A Well-Known Disease but Not Everything Is Clear Yet
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1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Cardiology Section, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico “Gaetano Martino", University of Messina, 98124 Messina, Italy
2 Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 216-8511 Kawasaki, Japan
*Correspondence: cesare.degregorio@unime.it (Cesare de Gregorio); giuseppe.ando@unime.it (Giuseppe Andò)
Academic Editors: Sophie Mavrogeni and Rajesh Katare
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2022, 23(6), 184; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2306184
Submitted: 29 January 2022 | Revised: 11 March 2022 | Accepted: 31 March 2022 | Published: 25 May 2022
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

TakoTsubo Syndrome (TTS) is a stress-induced cardiac disease characterized by temporary and segmental left ventricle dysfunction, typically involving the apex. Post-menopause women are more frequently affected. ECG and clinical features at presentation may be similar to those observed in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However underlying pathomechanisms are completely different and, for what concerns TTS, extremely debated and not yet completely understood. Some hypotheses have been proposed during years, mostly regarding catecholamine-induced cardiotoxicity and microvascular dysfunction, usually following a trigger event which may be either “emotional” (primary TTS) or “physical” (secondary TTS). Additional modulators like neuroendocrine disorders (particularly hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction and estrogen drop in menopause) may play a crucial role in TTS onset. Despite being originally considered more benign than ACS, several studies have enlightened that TTS and STEMI are burdened by the same in-hospital mortality and complications. However, TTS and ACS complications somehow differ for what concerns incidence, the underlying mechanisms, and both long- and short-term outcomes. Full recovery in TTS requires weeks to months and cases of recurrences have been described, but no single clinical feature seems to predict subsequent episodes so far. By now, apart from inhibitors of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAASi), no drug has proved to be effective either in the acute or chronic phase in reducing mortality, improving outcome, or preventing recurrences.

Keywords
TakoTsubo Syndrome
acute coronary syndrome
stress cardiomyopathy
catecholamine
heart failure
left ventricular dysfunction
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