Review

Correspondence *Department of Cardiac Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, Dovehouse Street, London SW3 6LY, UK

Email a.lyon@ic.ac.uk

Introduction

In the 16 years since the first report by Satoh et al.,¹ the entity of stress cardiomyopathy (also termed Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome, or ampulla-shaped cardiomyopathy) has been increasingly recognized. More than 300 articles on the topic have been published, the majority in the last 5 years. Despite this increased awareness, the pathophysiology of the condition remains unknown, and few reports have suggested a specific mechanism, beyond high catecholamine levels, as a trigger for the syndrome. Here, we review the clinical syndrome and suggest a novel pathophysiological explanation that focuses on the direct effects of high epinephrine levels on the ventricular myocardium. The syndrome represents a form of epinephrine-mediated acute myocardial stunning, with a predilection for the apical myocardium.

The clinical syndrome

The characteristic clinical syndrome of stress cardiomyopathy is acute left ventricular dysfunction, usually after a sudden emotional or physical stress. Patients typically present with cardiac chest pain, which can mimic an acute coronary syndrome. Although the coronary arteries have no flow-limiting lesions, acute changes on the electrocardiogram, suggesting ischemia, and raised levels of cardiac enzymes, reflecting acute myocardial injury, are usually present. Left ventricular dysfunction and wall-motion abnormalities are typically seen, affecting the apical and, frequently, the midventricular myocardium, but sparing the basal myocardium. On left ventriculography, echocardiography or cardiac MRI, these functional abnormalities typically resemble a flask with a short, narrow neck and wide, rounded body (Figure 1; cardiac MRI movies recorded during the acute phase and follow-up period, respectively, are provided as Supplementary Movies 1 and 2 online). The shape of the ventricle at end systole resembles the Japanese fisherman's octopus pot—the tako-tsubo—from which the syndrome derives its original name. The hypercontractile basal myocardium can generate left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in the presence of apical and midwall hypokinesis. The final element of the syndrome is that left ventricular function and apical wall motion return to normal within days or weeks of the acute insult, in a similar manner to traditional myocardial stunning, providing no further acute cardiac events occur.²

Figure 1 Left ventricular end systolic cardiac MRI.

(A) Acute phase with akinetic apical and mid-left ventricular wall and reduced or absent wall thickening (a cardiac MRI movie demonstrating the acute phase is provided as Supplementary Movie 1 online). (B) Follow-up image at 5 months, demonstrating normal left ventricular systolic function, with recovery of motion and wall thickening in all segments (a movie recorded during follow-up is provided as Supplementary Movie 2 online).

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The long-term prognosis of patients with this syndrome is excellent. In one series of 13 cases, all patients who survived the acute event (n = 12) were alive at 5-year follow-up.³ A clinical series from the US⁴ and a detailed systematic review of case reports and cohort studies⁵ have recently been reported. In 2006, the syndrome was renamed stress cardiomyopathy and reclassified within the subgroup of acquired cardiomyopathies.⁶

The triggering event

The common etiologic feature of stress cardiomyopathy is sudden physical or emotional stress as the precipitant. Two reports demonstrated an increased incidence of the syndrome after earthquakes in Japan.^{7, 8} The condition has also been reported in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery^{9, 10} and in patients with noncardiac medical emergencies.^{11, 12, 13, 14, 15} If measured early after the triggering event, a substantial increase in plasma catecholamine levels is reported in many patients following stress cardiomyopathy. Serum catecholamine levels are not usually measured in routine clinical practice, but, when measured, the catecholamine levels seen in this syndrome are significantly higher than those found in conditions such as acute myocardial infarction or cardiac failure and up to 34 times higher than normal resting values.^{16, 17} This issue is still a subject of debate, however, because the plasma half-life of epinephrine is approximately 3 min,¹⁸ and most patients present to emergency departments at least 30 min (>10 half-lives), and in some cases several hours, after symptom onset. The peak epinephrine level to which the myocardium is exposed at the point of stress will, therefore, be several logfold higher than any measurement of serum epinephrine level taken on admission to an emergency department, which could have returned to basal levels after the delay in presentation.

The surge in catecholamine levels results in cardiac dysfunction similar to that often classified as 'stunning with normal coronary blood flow'. This phenomenon is a relatively common finding in patients with acute intracranial injury, particularly acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, who also have surges in sympathetic activity in response to acute hemorrhage.¹⁹ Approximately 10% of patients with acute intracranial injury have acute ischemic electrocardiographic changes, raised levels of cardiac enzymes, and acute, but reversible, left ventricular impairment, all in the presence of normal coronary arteries.^{20, 21, 22} The pathology of the myocardium in such patients is similar to that sometimes seen in individuals with stress cardiomyopathy, with leukocyte infiltration and contraction-band necrosis.²³ The acute clinical instability during the early phase of a major neurological event means that optimum myocardial assessment (e.g. angiography, cardiac MRI) is rarely performed until after recovery. The same clinical picture is seen in patients with surges in catecholamine levels secondary to pheochromocytomas.^{24, 25}

The hypothesis

Surges in catecholamine levels are an evolutionary response to sudden shock, fright or danger. Proposed mechanisms for catecholamine-mediated stunning in stress cardiomyopathy include epicardial spasm, microvascular dysfunction, hyperdynamic contractility with midventricular or outflow tract obstruction, and direct effects of catecholamines on cardiomyocytes. We hypothesize that stunning is the result of epinephrine-mediated effects on cardiomyocytes.

Stimulus trafficking

At physiological and elevated concentrations, norepinephrine, released from the sympathetic nerves, acts predominantly via the ₁-adrenoceptors (₁ARs) on ventricular cardiomyocytes, exerting positive inotropic and lusitropic responses. These effects are the result of ₁AR coupling to the G_s protein family, which increases intracellular cyclic AMP levels through adenyl cyclase. Elevated cyclic AMP concentrations activate protein kinase A (PKA), which phosphorylates several downstream intracellular targets, resulting in an increased contractile response. Epinephrine also binds ₁ARs and activates this response, but it has a higher affinity for the ₂-adrenoceptor (₂AR). Humans have a higher concentration of ₂ARs in the ventricular myocardium than other mammals. The ratio of ₁ARs:₂ARs in normal human ventricular myocardium is approximately 4:1.²⁶ Studies with transgenic mice that overexpress human ₂ARs have enabled the pharmacology of the human ₂AR in the ventricular cardiomyocyte to be studied.²⁷ At epinephrine concentrations in the normal physiological range, epinephrine binding to ₂ARs activates the G_s protein–adenyl cyclase–PKA pathway, resulting in a positive inotropic response. At higher 'supraphysiological' concentrations, epinephrine stimulates a negative inotropic effect on myocyte contraction.²⁸ This change in response results from a switch in ₂AR coupling, from G_s protein signaling to G_i protein signaling,²⁹ a process called stimulus trafficking (Figure 2). PKA-mediated phosphorylation of the ₂AR, resulting from intense activation of the ₁AR–G_s protein and ₂AR–G_s protein pathways, is thought to initiate the switch in signal trafficking from ₂AR–G_s protein to ₂AR–G_i protein coupling.^{30, 31}

Figure 2 Inotropic effects of epinephrine and norepinephrine.

(A) Effects of epinephrine and norepinephrine on ventricular myocardium from transgenic mice overexpressing the human ₂-adrenoceptor (TG4 mice), and the effects of PTX. (B) Simulations of the ventricular effects of epinephrine and PTX treatment. Abbreviation: PTX, pertussis toxin. Permission obtained from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics © Heubach JF et al. (2004) Mol Pharmacol 65: 1313–1322.

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Although the bell-shaped concentration–response curve for the function of epinephrine on the human ₂AR has been demonstrated only in the transgenic mouse model, there is evidence for potential ₂AR–G_i protein interactions in human atrial³² and ventricular³³ muscle. Stimulation of ₂AR–G_i protein signaling pathways has been shown to produce a negative inotropic effect on human ventricular myocytes,³⁴ although the effect was much more pronounced in cells from a failing human heart, in which G_i protein signaling is increased, than in cells from a healthy heart.³⁵ After the surge in epinephrine levels has cleared from the circulation, ₂ARs coupled to G_i proteins either switch back to G_s protein coupling or are internalized and degraded, enabling cardiomyocytes to recover their inotropic function. This sequence of events would explain the reported recovery of ventricular function in individuals with stress cardiomyopathy.

The mechanism of the negative inotropic effect mediated by ₂AR–G_i protein interaction is still under debate. The G_i protein pathway can activate the p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway, which exerts a negative inotropic effect.^{36, 37, 38} Alternatively, ₂AR–G_i protein signaling could upregulate the sodium–calcium ion exchanger,³⁹ inhibit L-type calcium channel currents⁴⁰ or act through other as yet unidentified pathways. At first, these responses seem counterintuitive to the evolutionary need for catecholamine-induced increases in cardiac output. High levels of ₁AR-mediated G_s protein pathway activation induce apoptotic pathways in the cardiomyocyte. The switch to G_i protein signaling via the ₂AR at high epinephrine concentrations might, therefore, have a protective role. ₂AR–G_i protein coupling also activates the phosphoinositide 3 kinase–protein kinase B (Akt) pathway through the G_i subunit, which has an antiapoptotic effect.⁴¹ This action would counteract the proapoptotic effect of excessive ₁AR–G_s protein pathway activation⁴² and act as a physiological balance to prevent excessive catecholamine-mediated damage. Patchy apoptosis could still occur before, or despite, the activation of G_i-protein-dependent pathways, explaining the elevation of troponin levels and necrosis seen in patients following stress cardiomyopathy. The scale of myocardial injury is probably reduced compared with the scenario of unopposed activation mediated by ₁AR–G_s protein and ₂AR–G_s protein pathways.

Negative inotropism mediated by epinephrine, ₂AR and G_i protein interactions can explain the propensity for apical suppression with basal sparing in stress cardiomyopathy. Sympathetic stimulation of adrenoceptors in the ventricular myocardium is achieved through two routes: local release of norepinephrine by sympathetic nerve endings, directly innervating the myocardium; and diffusion of circulating catecholamines into the myocardium from the coronary circulation. In normal human hearts, the density of sympathetic nerve endings, as identified by tyrosine hydroxylase during autopsy, is approximately 40% higher in the basal myocardium than in the apical myocardium.⁴³ Sympathetic innervation of the myocardium in the canine left ventricle shows a similar pattern, with the highest density of nerve endings found at the base, decreasing to the lowest levels at the apex.⁴⁴ In the normal physiological setting, the majority of norepinephrine is released from nerve terminals, with circulating norepinephrine released from the adrenal medulla making a minimal contribution. The innervation pattern, therefore, is inconsistent with the region of greatest dysfunction found in stress cardiomyopathy.

Provided that perfusion is balanced, circulating catecholamines have a global effect on the myocardium. The magnitude of the effect will depend on the local density of adrenoceptors in different regions of the myocardium. Mori et al. demonstrated that the canine heart has a higher concentration of -adrenoceptors in the apical myocardium, with the concentration gradient decreasing from apex to base (455 vs 341 fmol/mg protein).⁴⁴ This difference in distribution resulted in a greater contractile response to catecholamine challenge in the apical myocardium than in the basal myocardium. The proposed explanation for this difference is that the density of -adrenoceptors in the apical myocardium is increased to compensate for the decrease in direct sympathetic innervation, to maintain a balanced responsiveness of the ventricle to sympathetic drive. This difference implies that the apex might be more sensitive than the basal myocardium to circulating catecholamines and that, under conditions of stress, the circulating catecholamine is predominantly epinephrine. Mori et al. did not, however, differentiate between ₁ARs and ₂ARs in their study, and this greater density of adrenoceptors at the apex has not been assessed in the human ventricle. Their observation is supported by findings from models of heart failure induced by either acute or chronic catecholamine infusion.^{45, 46} These models demonstrate increased myocardial fibrosis in the apical ventricular myocardium, indicating that the apical myocardium has a raised sensitivity to circulating catecholamines and in particular the -adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline used in these studies. An increasing density of ₂ARs from the base to the apex could explain the regional difference in response to high catecholamine levels, with circulating epinephrine having a greater influence on apical, relative to basal, function (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Schematic representation of the regional differences in response to high catecholamine levels, explaining stress cardiomyopathy.

 

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We do not discount the role of norepinephrine in stress cardiomyopathy, given the systemic activation of the sympathetic nervous system in response to sudden shock. Norepinephrine-mediated coronary vasospasm might have an additional role, and there is evidence of coronary or inducible spasm at provocation in some patients.⁴⁷ This response is unsurprising following a massive surge in norepinephrine levels, although other investigators have found no evidence of epicardial or microcirculatory flow abnormalities in stress cardiomyopathy.⁴⁸ Coronary vasospasm could impose a secondary ischemic insult, superimposed on the primary epinephrine-induced apical stunning.

Clinical testing

Our hypothesis is readily testable in animal models by use of genetic tools to manipulate the density of -adrenoceptors and assessment of the ventricular response to catecholamines. Measurement of the gradient of the density of ₂ARs in the human ventricle is more challenging. Direct measurement of the density of ₂ARs in tissue specimens taken from different regions of the human ventricle would be ideal, but obtaining left ventricular biopsies from 'normal' human hearts raises major ethical concerns, and 'normal' donor hearts unsuitable for transplantation have frequently been exposed to high catecholamine levels before explantation. An alternative is in vivo measurement with PET and labeled receptor ligands.⁶¹In vivo or tissue measurements of ₁AR:₂AR ratios in cardiomyocytes can also be confounded by ₂ARs on the coronary vasculature⁶² and on cardiac fibroblasts.⁶³

Clinical implications

This pathophysiological hypothesis might enable improved management of patients in the acute phase of stress cardiomyopathy. Whereas some patients require only supportive therapy, others can present with acute cardiogenic shock, necessitating admission to intensive care for hemodynamic support. Epinephrine has a causative role in stress cardiomyopathy and the deterioration of myocardial function, and additional 'therapeutic' epinephrine might drive further ₂AR–G_i-protein-mediated negative inotropism. The use of inotropic agents, particularly dobutamine, in patients with stress cardiomyopathy and cardiogenic shock, therefore, seems counterintuitive. Some -blockers can also cause stimulus trafficking of ₂ARs to G_i protein coupling,⁶⁴ which suggests that use of these agents in patients with stress cardiomyopathy might be inappropriate, despite the high catecholamine levels. Aortic balloon pump counterpulsation might be the best first-line hemodynamic support, with intravenous calcium or levosimendan, the calcium-sensitizing agent, as second-line pharmacological support. In cases of life-threatening acute left ventricular failure, temporary mechanical support with a left ventricular assist device can be indicated. Ventricular support could provide time for the ventricular myocardium to recover, as observed in the natural history of stress cardiomyopathy. We must highlight, however, that these proposals are founded on a hypothesis and require a clinical study for validation.

Conclusions

In summary, we hypothesize that stress cardiomyopathy is a form of myocardial stunning, but with cellular mechanisms different to those caused by transient episodes of ischemia secondary to coronary stenoses. High levels of circulating epinephrine trigger a switch in intracellular signal trafficking, from G_s protein to G_i protein signaling through the ₂AR. This change in signaling is negatively inotropic, and the effect is greatest at the apical myocardium, in which the density of -adrenoceptors is highest. This hypothesis has implications for the use of drugs or devices in the treatment of patients with stress cardiomyopathy.

Acknowledgments

Désirée Lie, University of California, Irvine, CA, is the author of and is solely responsible for the content of the learning objectives, questions and answers of the Medscape-accredited continuing medical education activity associated with this article.

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Subject areas under which this article appears: Cardiomyopathy and heart failure