Spontaneous coronary artery dissection and its association with takotsubo syndrome: Novel insights from a tertiary center registry

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a relatively rare cause of acute coronary syndrome historically thought to primarily affect young, healthy women. The lack of multicenter collaborative research efforts has made it challenging to identify the precise etiology and pathological mechanisms underlying SCAD. However, there are many similarities in the patient demographics, clinical presentations, and predisposing stressors between SCAD and takotsubo syndrome (TTS). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this observational study was to examine the coronary and left ventriculographic features of patients with angiographically confirmed SCAD and determine the prevalence of concomitant TTS. METHODS: In this observational study, patients with angiographically confirmed SCAD were identified from the Massachusetts General Hospital SCAD registry. The coronary angiograms with simultaneous left ventriculograms (LVG) were carefully analyzed by an independent and blinded angiographic core laboratory. RESULTS: From our analysis of patients with SCAD who also underwent a LVG at time of coronary angiography, we identified a high prevalence of SCAD and concomitant TTS. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, we present TTS as a plausible mechanistic etiology for SCAD in some patients. In light of this finding as well as the many similarities between SCAD and TTS, clinicians should be vigilant about the potential concomitant presence of these two entities. Additional future investigations further exploring the clinical implications of the association between SCAD and TTS are warranted.