Transient impairment of myocardial perfusion in a patient with apical ballooning syndrome.

Abstract We describe a case of a 76-year-old woman who presented with chest pain after a violent argument. On admission the electrocardiogram showed 1-mm ST segment elevation in II, III, aVF, V3–V6 leads; the subsequent electrocardiogram showed T-wave inversion in the same leads. Peak troponin I level was 7.3 ng/dl (normal In patients with apical ballooning syndrome a catecholamine-mediated endothelial injury might be responsible of a microvascular coronary dysfunction which causes myocardial ischemia and subsequent myocardial stunning.