Transient Left Ventricular Apical Ballooning During Exercise Testing
Author Information
Author(s): Dhoble Abhijeet, Abdelmoneim Sahar S, Bernier Mathieu, Oh Jae K, Mulvagh Sharon L
Primary Institution: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
Hypothesis
Can transient left ventricular apical ballooning during exercise stress testing be linked to a common hypersympathetic mechanism?
Conclusion
The cases suggest that transient stress-induced cardiomyopathy can occur due to hypertensive responses during exercise stress testing.
Supporting Evidence
- Both patients showed wall motion abnormalities during exercise stress testing.
- Pharmacologic stress testing revealed normal wall motion in both cases.
- The study suggests a link between hypertensive responses and transient cardiomyopathy.
Takeaway
Sometimes when people exercise, their heart can act funny and look like it's sick, but it might just be because their blood pressure got too high.
Methodology
Two patients underwent treadmill exercise echocardiography followed by pharmacologic stress testing to assess wall motion abnormalities.
Limitations
Coronary angiography was not performed due to low suspicion for coronary artery disease, and plasma catecholamine levels were not measured.
Participant Demographics
One patient was a 50-year-old woman and the other a 75-year-old man, both with cardiac risk factors.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website