Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with syncope

We report an 81-year-old Japanese patient with takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with syncope with the possibility that the latter event evoked the former condition. Initial investigations revealed elevation of cardiac enzymes and electrocardiography changes consistent with acute myocardial infarction. The patient subsequently underwent cardiac catheterization that revealed left ventricular apical ballooning and decreased left ventricular ejection fraction without significant coronary artery lesions. A marked elevation in plasma norepinephrine, as a result of baroreflex unloading associated with profound hypotension or frank baroreflex failure, may well have caused takotsubo cardiomyopathy.