First case of stress cardiomyopathy as a result of methadone withdrawal secondary to drug-drug interaction

Abstract

We describe the first case of stress cardiomyopathy secondary to a drug-drug interaction. A 44-year-old man was admitted for acute agitation, hallucinations, tachycardia, and fever within 2 hours of ingestion of naltrexone prescribed to stop alcohol consumption. He had been receiving methadone (120 mg/d) for several months for a history of heroin use; thus, acute opiate withdrawal syndrome secondary to naltrexone treatment was diagnosed. Because electrocardiography showed diffuse ST-segment elevation, a transthoracic echocardiography was performed. It revealed apical akinesia of the left ventricle with a reduction in systolic function. The echocardiogram showed an ejection fraction of 35%, apical and midventricular wall motion abnormalities of the left ventricle, and a cardiac output of 4 L/min without coronary stenosis. The patient was transferred to the cardiologic intensive care unit with a diagnosis of transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome secondary to acute opiate withdrawal syndrome. It is likely that opioid withdrawal, inducing a marked increase in catecholamine plasma concentrations, contributed to the development of stress cardiomyopathy. To our knowledge, this is the first case of stress cardiomyopathy described after abrupt opiate withdrawal secondary to a drug-drug interaction.