This was sent by a recent ultrasound fellow, asking for my ECG diagnosis.
He stated that it is "an acute change from previous" in an elderly smoker with hypertension, syncope, and abdominal pain.
My response:
"These are typical of Takotsubo or CNS catastrophe.
Obviously it is clinically not a CNS catastrophe, so it must be Takotsubo.
His answer:
2.
3.
4.
5. Diffuse ST Elevation with Apical Ballooning: is it Takotsubo Stress Cardiomyopathy?
He stated that it is "an acute change from previous" in an elderly smoker with hypertension, syncope, and abdominal pain.
My response:
"These are typical of Takotsubo or CNS catastrophe.
Obviously it is clinically not a CNS catastrophe, so it must be Takotsubo.
You must have done an echo?
Apical ballooning?"
His answer:
"It was Takotsubo! Sadly I did not perform my own echo. It was a busy shift, fewer US machines are available here, so I could not find one in that moment. Cards came to see the patient and brought their machine down, and he had clear apical ballooning and the cath lab was activated in the middle of the night (a little begrudgingly). The angiogram was negative."
Comment
Notice that I did not even put ACS on my differential? These ECGs, in my experience, are not seen in ACS.
However, there are morphologies of Takotsubo that cannot be distinguished from STEMI. See below.
Here are some examples:
1.
Takotsubo Stress Cardiomyopathy that mimics LAD occlusion Cath was clean. |
Central Nervous System T-waves. This one is called: |
3.
4.
5. Diffuse ST Elevation with Apical Ballooning: is it Takotsubo Stress Cardiomyopathy?
33 yo male with 2 days of chest painThis was an anterior STEMI that had apical ballooning and was wrongly thought to be TakotsuboDiffuse ST Elevation with Apical Ballooning: is it Takotsubo Stress Cardiomyopathy? |
Patient had a presentation of chest pain and this ECG is much more likely to be LAD occlusion of a wraparound (type III) LAD to the inferior wall. The only reason to think it might be Takotsubo is the apical ballooning on echo, but that is often seen with occlusion of a wraparound LAD.
LAD Occlusion
6. Chest pain presentation: Takotsubo mimics LAD occlusion
Real Learning Case........ Thanks to Dr Smith !
ReplyDeleteexcellent. thank you, Stephen.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rajiv!
ReplyDelete