Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Mimicking Myocardial Infarction in a Man with Myasthenic Crisis: A Case Report and Literature Review

Taylor M. Douglas¹, Perry Wengrofsky¹, Syed Haseeb¹, Eric Kupferstein², Pramod Theetha Kariyanna², Jacob Schwartz¹, Louis Salciccioli² and Samy I. McFarlane^1,

¹Department of Internal Medicine, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y, U.S.A-11203

²Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y, U.S.A-11203

Cite this paper:
Taylor M. Douglas, Perry Wengrofsky, Syed Haseeb, Eric Kupferstein, Pramod Theetha Kariyanna, Jacob Schwartz, Louis Salciccioli and Samy I. McFarlane. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Mimicking Myocardial Infarction in a Man with Myasthenic Crisis: A Case Report and Literature Review. American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2018; 6(9):184-188. doi: 10.12691/ajmcr-6-9-4

Abstract

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy is a syndrome characterized by transient and reversible regional myocardial dysfunction in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease classically resulting in ventricular apical ballooning. It has a strong female predominance with onset generally in seventh decade of life, with hypothesized pathophysiology related to excess of catecholaminergic stimulation, particularly during episodes of physical or emotional stress. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy has been previously reported during myasthenic crisis, the acute deterioration of myasthenia gravis typically involving respiratory failure that is also associated with physical or emotional stress. We present the case of an atypically young male patient with classical takotsubo cardiomyopathy in the setting of myasthenic crisis after thymectomy initially concerning for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, and a review of the literature of takotsubo cardiomyopathy in myasthenic crisis.

Keywords:
myasthenic crisis takotsubo cardiomyopathy male thymectomy

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