2 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Takotsubo syndrome is a condition which mimics acute myocardial infarction, and is diagnosed in 1.5% to 2.2% of patients referred to hospital with suspected acute coronary syndrome. It is also known as broken heart syndrome, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, stress cardiomyopathy and apical ballooning cardiomyopathy, among other names. The pathogenesis of this disorder is not well understood. Possible mechanisms include catecholamine excess, coronary artery spasm, microvascular dysfunction, among others. This is a multicenter, nation-wide, observational study of patients who were previously diagnosed with takotsubo syndrome. The investigators aim to use this registry to help plan and carry out further studies and to improve understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms of this syndrome. In addition participants will be followed for events, and to monitor quality of life and stress.
Objective: The objective of this pilot study is to characterize the cardiac uptake patterns of I-123 mIBG in stress-induced (Takotsubo's) cardiomyopathy. Hypothesis: Perturbations in sympathetic innervation are the underlying pathogenesis of stress induced cardiomyopathy and will result in abnormalities in I-123 mIBG cardiac imaging. Thus, planar and SPECT I-123 MIBG imaging will provide insight into the pathogenesis of stress-induced cardiomyopathy, and may lead to the development of more specific diagnostic criteria. Study design: This proposal is for a prospective pilot study to characterize perturbations in cardiac sympathetic innervation in patients with stress induced cardiomyopathy by performing planar and SPECT I-123 MIBG imaging during the acute presentation and after recovery of LV function.