Pheochromocytoma should be considered as a potential underlying cause of Takotsubo syndrome, especially when unusual symptoms or sudden blood pressure spikes occur.
May prompt targeted pheochromocytoma evaluation in atypical Takotsubo; leaves open whether routine screening improves outcomes.
The clinical presentation of Takotsubo syndrome, or apical ballooning syndrome, resembles an extensive anterolateral myocardial infarction with chest pain symptoms and electrocardiographic ST-elevation or T-wave inversion noted in most patients. However, coronary arteries are invariably found to be normal or to display minimal atherosclerotic disease despite modest elevation of cardiac enzymes. Since most cases of Takotsubo syndrome occur after intense physical and/or emotional stress, catecholamine surge appears to be a common underlying mechanism. We present a case of Takotsubo syndrome, which presented with unusual symptoms and was found to be caused by pheochromocytoma. A sudden rise in blood pressure moments after completion of echocardiographic stress testing aided in uncovering the diagnosis.
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Marcovitz et al. (2010) studied this question.
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