Un persistente dolore toracico dopo lieve trauma della strada: un peculiare caso di cardiopatia di takotsubo

We present the case of a 73 year-old woman, who came to our Emergency Department complaining of a mild persistent chest pain after a minor car collision. At last, we found that she had a Takotsubo syndrome. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a transient cardiac syndrome that involves left ventricular apical akinesis and mimics acute coronary syndrome. Patients often present with chest pain, have ST-segment elevation on EKG, and elevated cardiac enzyme levels consistent with a myocardial infarction. During cardiac angiography, there is no significant coronary artery stenosis, but left ventricular apical ballooning is present. These alterations typically improve within the first 3-7 days, with a very low rate of in-hospital mortality. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is more commonly seen in post-menopausal women, and often it is triggered by a recent emotional or physical stress.