Are normal coronary arteries a typical feature of apical ballooning syndrome?

Huczek, Zenon MD, PhD
Filipiak, Krzysztof J. MD, PhD
Kochman, Janusz MD, PhD
Roik, Marek MD
Piatkowski, Radoslaw MD
Opolski, Grzegorz MD, PhD

1st Department of Cardiology, The Medical University of Warsaw, Central University Hospital, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland

Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 22 599 29 58 (office), +48 692 433 568 (mobile); fax: +48 22 599 19 57.

Received 31 December 2007; accepted 28 January 2008

American Journal of Emergency Medicine 26(8):p 965e1-965e4, October 2008.

Abstract

Apical ballooning syndrome (ABS) is a new and uncommon, yet very interesting, clinical phenomenon regarded as one of the important elements of differential diagnosis in acute myocardial infarction. It was first described in 1990. The absence of obstructive coronary artery disease among others is a typical feature of ABS, required to make a final diagnosis. We describe a case of a woman with ultrasonographically confirmed tight stenosis in the right coronary artery, yet showing all other characteristics of ABS.