Pathology of inverted Takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Myocardial dysfunction without coronary involvement may occur in acute cerebral diseases. The inverted Takotsubo pattern has been recently recognized as a novel heart neurologic stress-related syndrome. We report on the case of a 40-year-old woman presenting with massive subarachnoid hemorrhage and brain death. Echocardiography revealed an extensive left ventricular circumferential akinesis except at the apex, Histologic analysis of the heart confirmed the absence of myocardial infarction and revealed only sparse foci of myocyte necrosis with contraction bands in the akinetic areas. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.