[Myocardial pseudo-infarction: "stress"-associated catecholamine-induced acute cardiomyopathy or coronary spasm?]

As well as pheochromocytoma, in which it has been established that an excess of circulating catecholamines is responsible for the development of catecholamine-induced acute myopathy, some rare cases have been reported of a similar cardiac incident following intense emotional stress. In this study, the case has been examined of a 56-year old female with no history of cardiovascular disorder who presented with intense, nitro-resistant prolonged chest pain mimicking an acute coronary syndrome immediately following a situation involving major psychological stress. The admission electrocardiogram revealed a sharp decrease in R-wave amplitude in the right chest leads associated with an extended QT interval, and secondarily with subepicardiac ischemia in the lower leads. However, a few days after admission the electrical signs and septo-apical akinesia that had initially been observed by echocardiography completely disappeared. The clinical examination ruled out a diagnosis of myocardial necrosis, acute myocarditis, or pheochromocytoma. Moreover, no direct evidence of coronary spasm was found. The outcome was positive, with complete reversibility of all clinical signs and no organic sequelae. It is considered that this was probably a case of catecholaminergic acute cardiomyopathy triggered by intense emotional stress, a rare occurrence that should nevertheless be systematically taken into account in cases with similar clinical signs.