Transient myocardial edema in the subacute phase of Takotsubo syndrome can cause 'pseudohypertrophy' mimicking apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which resolves over time.
Requires caution against misdiagnosing apical HCM from subacute Takotsubo imaging; single case leaves open frequency and generalizability.
We have recently published in the journal the case of a 66-year-old female affected by typical Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) with apical ballooning, who presented important novel apical wall thickening despite normalization of left ventricular ejection fraction at a follow-up cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) 1 month after the acute event. In the absence of significant elevated edema-sensitive T2 values at CMR, this constellation was interpreted as apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, initially mimicked by TTS. However, a routine late follow-up echocardiography and CMR after 6 months showed complete resolution of apical wall thickening. "Pseudohypertrophy" caused by transient significant myocardial edema seems to be a more frequent phenotype in the subacute phase of TTS than is yet known, which may cause diagnostic confusion.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Schlossbauer et al. (2021) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: