2001 Volume 40 Issue 4 Pages 312-319
A 69-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with palpitations. Although left ventriculography showed extensive akinesis except in the basal hyperkinetic segment, coronary angiography showed normal coronary arteries. 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) accumulation was obviously reduced in the anteroseptal, apical and inferior areas. Inverted T waves developed on day 3 and disappeared on day 104 after transient regression. Echocardiography showed normal left ventricular motion two weeks later. Ergonovine provocation test showed no vasospasm and thallium-201 showed no perfusion defect on day 46. Electrocardiography and MIBG returned to normal on day 216. These findings suggest prolonged sympathetic nerve injury in extensive myocardial stunning.
(Internal Medicine 40: 312-319, 2001)