Takotsubo's Cardiomyopathy in a Young Female with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Report

Abstract

Takotsubo's cardiomyopathy (TC) typically presents with acute cardiac dysfunction due to regional wall motion abnormality, but unlike other cardiac pathologies, it recovers within a short period. Here, we report the case of a 23-year-old woman who presented to us following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Her Glasgow coma scale (GCS) deteriorated rapidly in the preoperative period and she developed TC following surgery. Despite an uneventful surgery, she needed cardiovascular support by vasopressors and inotropes in the postoperative period. She was diagnosed with TC on serial transthoracic echocardiography, with complete cardiac function recovery within 9 days. The diagnosis of TC was supported by electrocardiography (not correlating coronary artery disease), elevated troponin I and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and the presence of a physical sessor like TBI. As an unrecognized TC due to a low GCS score after severe TBI may negatively impact outcomes, we aim to emphasize that vigilant perioperative management may give good outcomes even in less commonly encountered serious TC.

Keywords

• Takotsubo's cardiomyopathy
• transthoracic echocardiography
• traumatic brain injury