Takostubo cardiomyopathy is regarded as a rare diagnosis among patients with STEMI. During the last years we observed relatively high frequency of the disease.
The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of Takostubo cardiomyopathy among women presenting with A-STEMI.
Between 1/2008 – 11/2013, 145 women were hospitalized with an initial diagnosis of A-STEMI. All were referred for primary PCI. All patients had echocardiography.
In 33 (23%) of the women, normal coronaries were found and on echocardiography apical ballooning was present. In 7 additional patients presenting with NSTEMI who had normal coronaries, echocardiography revealed apical ballooning.
Women with Takostubo cardiomyopathy were of the same age as women with A-STEMI (67+10yrs vs 69+12yrs, p=0.5), they had lower mean levels of CPK (156 vs 160.7, p<0.0001), had less risk factors/pt (1[0-4] vs 2[0-4]).
All women with Takostubo cardiomyopathy survived the acute event. In 70% complete recovery of LV function was observed within 5 days.
Conclusion: Takostubo cardiomyopathy is a frequently (23%) observed among women with A-STEMI. To the best of our knowledge, such a high prevalence has never been reported.
