[Case Report] Stress induced (Takotsubo) cardiomyopathy triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic

Sofia Giannitsi; Pavlos Tsinivizov; Leonidas E Poulimenos; Manolis S Kallistratos; Dimitris Varvarousis; Athanasios J Manolis; Konstantinos Tsamakis; Emmanouil Rizos; Demetrios A Spandidos; Dimitrios Tsiptsios; Andreas S Triantafyllis

doi:10.3892/etm.2020.8968

[Case Report] Stress induced (Takotsubo) cardiomyopathy triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic

Exp Ther Med. 2020 Sep;20(3):2812-2814. doi: 10.3892/etm.2020.8968. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, Asklepeion General Hospital, 16673 Athens, Greece.
² Second Department of Psychiatry, University of Athens, 'ATTIKON' University Hospital, 12462 Athens, Greece.
³ King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London SE58AF, UK.
⁴ Laboratory of Clinical Virology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece.
⁵ Neurophysiology Department, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Sunderland SR47TP, UK.

Abstract

Stress induced (Takotsubo) cardiomyopathy (TC) represents an acute heart failure syndrome triggered by physical or emotional stressors. COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented health crisis resulting in fear, distress and anxiety, with emerging cardiovascular implications. COVID-19 related stress can act as potential trigger for TC. We present a case of an elderly female who developed TC due to stress surrounding COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Takotsubo cardiomyopathy; pandemic; stress; stressor.

Publication types

Case Reports