Published online Dec 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i24.6517
Peer-review started: September 17, 2020
First decision: September 24, 2020
Revised: October 3, 2020
Accepted: October 20, 2020
Article in press: October 20, 2020
Published online: December 26, 2020
Processing time: 92 Days and 13.4 Hours
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), a syndrome of acute left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, is characterized by transitory hypokinesis of LV apices with compensatory hyperkinesis of the LV basal region. The symptoms of TTC mimic acute myocardial infarction, without significant coronary stenoses on coronary angiography. Echocardiogram plays a key role in the diagnosis and prognosis of TTC. New indicators from echocardiograms may be helpful in disease evaluation.
A 67-year-old man with a 10-year history of non-small cell lung cancer was admitted to our hospital for emerging facial edema and dry cough. Bronchoscopic lavage, brushing, and biopsy were performed to evaluate tumor progression. During this procedure, he complained of left chest pain, nausea, and vomiting, with elevated troponin levels. Electrocardiogram showed sinus bradycardia with ST-segment elevation in I, AVL, and V4 to V6 leads. Coronary angiography revealed mild stenosis in the right coronary artery. Echocardiography showed hypokinesis of LV apices with compensatory hyperkinesis of the LV basal region. At the 7-d follow-up, echocardiographic pressure-strain analysis showed a normal LV ejection fraction, but partial recovery of LV myocardial work, which fully recovered 5 mo later.
This is a case of TTC caused by bronchoscopic operation. We strongly recommend noninvasive myocardial work measured by echocardiographic pressure-strain analysis as a necessary supplementary test for the long-term follow-up of TTC.
Core Tip: In this paper, we report a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy caused by bronchoscopic operation, which is rare in clinical practice. The diagnosis is clear. And some novel indicators from echocardiogram were measured, like left ventricular myocardial work index and left ventricular myocardial work efficiency, to evaluate the recovery of ventricular function accurately.