**The Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis and Management of Takotsubo Syndrome**

Uzair Ansari and Ibrahim El-Battrawy

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/68037

#### **Abstract**

The Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a transient cardiac dysfunction characterised by a variety of ventricular wall-motion abnormalities. Alternative nomenclatures for this disorder include stress-induced cardiomyopathy, apical ballooning syndrome and 'broken heart syndrome'. TTS bears stark resemblance to an acute coronary syndrome, wherein patients present with acute chest pain and initial diagnostic workup correlates to abnormalities suggesting significant coronary stenosis. Interestingly, the distinguishing factor in TTS is the absence of an occlusive coronary vascular disease, which could correlate with these changes. The underlying pathophysiology explaining the evolution of TTS is still debatable; however, results from various recent studies and registers have shed more light on this obscure clinical entity. The detailed description of a criterion which demonstrably includes most patients with probable TTS has helped tune management strategies in ensuring necessary supportive care and early therapeutic interventions of complications, which could arise in course of the disease.

**Keywords:** Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, pathophysiology, catecholamines, complication, diagnosis, treatment
