Brachial Artery Flow-mediated Dilation in Patients with Tako-Tsubo Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Background Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a heart syndrome associated with transient myocardial contractile dysfunction. The pathogenesis of TTC remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in patients with TTC. Methods The results of FMD tests of 4 women with TTC were compared with the results from 18 women with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) and from 26 healthy female volunteers. FMD tests in all patients were performed within 24 hours of admission and again at 1-3 weeks as a follow-up. Results The FMD levels were significantly lower at the acute phase in patients with TTC than in patients with STEMI and in healthy volunteers ( P <.01). After 1-3 weeks, the FMD test results of patients with TTC had greatly increased, and no significant differences were found between these results and the results from patients with STEMI ( P >.05). Also, there were no significant differences in the FMD test results between the group of patients with TTC and the group of healthy volunteers ( P >.05). Conclusions There is a pronounced and reversible endothelial dysfunction in patients with TTC, which can impair myocardial perfusion.