Heart problems may affect wider range of patients than previously reported
Monday, 27. February 2012
Stress cardiomyopathy seems to have clinical features that are larger than previously reported, among the younger patients, men and patients without an identifiable stressful trigger according to a study on the number July 20 JAMA.Stress cardiomyopathy mainly affects women after menopause and is characterized by left ventricular acute, profound, but reversible dysfunction in the absence of significant coronary artery disease, according to background information in the article. ‘Several aspects of its clinical profile have been described in a single center of small populations, but larger, multicenter data sets have missed so far. Furthermore, it is difficult to quickly establish a diagnosis at admission.’
The researchers note that their data indicate that only two thirds of patients had a stress factor on clearly identifiable, whereas in previous reports, the %age of the previous emotional or physical trigger has reached 89 %. ‘So, our large multi-center cohort demonstrated that the absence of an identifiable stressful event does not exclude the diagnosis and, consequently, the precipitating mechanisms may be more complex, such as the involvement of vascular, endocrine and central nervous system. Therefore, a better understanding and recognition of a broad profile of the SC as shown in clinical studies is required for proper diagnosis and treatment in patients with suspected CS. ‘
Patients with SC had an average age of 69, 89 % were women. Eighty % of patients were postmenopausal women, 20 women were age 50 or younger, men accounted for 11 % of cases. On presentation of the health center, electrocardiograms revealed abnormalities in 87 % of patients. Coronary angiography showed healthy coronary arteries in 193 patients . CMR imaging detected balloon models [a certain aspect of the heart muscle] moderate to severe impairment of LV function in all patients and four distinct patterns of regional ventricular balloon.
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