takotsubo

[caeRn]

Hello,

I am wondering if any one can give me their experience with the diagnosis takotsubo aka broken heart syndrome. I know what it is and i know how to treat it. I know it can be reversable but i want to know if any nurses have had patients with this illness and did they improve? My father was rushed to ER with CP. He had an MI. Once they did cath, dr said he was clean as a whistle no blockage at all. He was disgnosed with Takotsubo Syndrome. This illness has lowered his EF to 35%. He has started on ace inhibitor and beta blocker. He is know scared to do anything. Any body experience his disease?:redbeathe

[aCRNAhopeful]

You may try the CCU forum. I would think theyve seen plenty of patients that have had that exact same thing happen. I have seen the same thing in my unit, and I've only been there 9 months. Can't offer much advice as I dont know a whole lot about it. Isn't it also known as stress induced cardiomyopathy?

[caeRn]

Yes it is also known as stressed induced cariomyopathy. I did post it on CCu forum couple days ago and i only got 1 responce. So i thought i would post it here to. Thanks for your thoughts. :)

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

We see stress-induced cardiomyopathy 2-3 times a year on our cardiac unit (we are not an ICU). They are usually discharged home once they are stable so I cannot tell you how they do post discharge. It sounds like your dad is getting the proper treatment though, with a beta blocker and ACE inhibitor. He will be followed with echos to monitor his EF which I believe should improve once the heart muscle recovers from stunning.

Best wishes to you and your dad.

[JulieCVICURN, BSN, RN]

It seems like we had a bunch of them all in a short span of time in our unit, and they all came from the same cardiologist. We'd all joke that he must have gone to a seminar recently. Don't really remember that much about them though.

[caeRn]

thanks for the kind words:redbeathe

[kmoonshine, RN]

Try reading through this case presentation (I found it interesting): http://www.flightweb.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=618&hl=takotsubo&st=0

[mcknis]

I know I am not a forum administrator, but please remember AllNurses is not to be used as a medical advice forum. Prayers to you, your father, and your family. Takots is fairly rare, but I can not imagine going through it. Best of luck to your family.

[robinbird]

When I worked in the cardiac stepdown unit I had a male patient who was diagnosed with Takotsubo, no medical history, clean coronary arteries and and EF of 30%. He traced his Takotsubo to a very stressful work situation. Our daughters went to school together so I saw him 6 months later at a school event and he said he was "back to normal". Full recovery doesn't happen in all cases but it does happen.