Attack the ATAK : “οὓς ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξε, ἄνθρωπος μὴ χωριζέτω” (ous o theos synezeuxe anthropos me horizeto) “what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder”

Abstract

“Voodoo Death”was the title of a paper published, more than half a century ago [1], by the renowned American physiologist Walter B. Cannon and was based on anecdotal experiences, largely from the anthropology literature, dealing with death from fright. “Voodoo” is of African origin and concerns superstitious beliefs and practices found among Negroes of West Indies and Southern United States. Canon was the first to postulate that death from fright is caused by a lasting and intense action of sympathico-adrenal system. Phrases such as “scared to death” and “a broken heart”, are still used today and are deeply rooted in folk wisdom and reflect potentially lethal consequences of emotional, depressogenic or mental stress. Indeed, terms such as broken heart syndrome, transient left ventricular apical ballooning, stress-induced cardiomyopathy, apical ballooning syndrome, atypical apical ballooning, ampulla cardiomyopathy or transient left ventricular dysfunction syndrome characterize the takotsubo syndrome that usually follows emotional distress. This clinical entity has been excessively discussed nowadays but there are many questions regarding its etiology, pathophysiology and treatment which still remain unanswered. It has been emphasized recently [2] that adrenaline, takotsubo, anaphylaxis, and Kounis syndrome (ATAK) constitute a challenging contemporary complex that needs “attacking” in order to elucidate its etiology and pathophysiology and apply the proper preventive and therapeutic measures.