Objectives: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a condition of transient left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. The effects on LV mass (LVM) and geometry have not been studied enough in TTC. Retrospectively, we analyzed our TTC cohort both by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for comparative purposes.
Design: Thirteen women undergoing TTE and MRI, at onset and three months later, were included. LVM was estimated by MRI, and two TTE methods. Segmental wall thickness (SWT) was measured, while radial strain was assessed by TTE. Data analysis included Wilcoxon's test (between phases), Mann-Whitney U test and McNemar's test (between and within groups). Bland-Altman analyses were used for intertechnique coherence, while interactions regarding TTE were tested using Spearman's coefficient.
Results: LVM decreased during recovery (p < 0.05), by MRI and one of the TTE methods; truncated ellipsoid formula (TEF), which also showed relatively better coherence compared with MRI. SWT decreased in two of three sites, by both modalities, but with ambiguous coherence there between. The TEF data interacted partially with a demonstrated increase in radial strain.
Conclusions: TTC associates with acute increase in LVM, which appears to be an apical effect, tending to follow the changes in concentric wall motion. MRI and TTE show adequate coherence; primarily for the TEF method regarding LVM.
Keywords: apical ballooning syndrome; concentric wall motion; left ventricular morphology; stress-induced cardiomyopathy; two-dimensional echocardiography.