Abstract
A 93-year-old woman with gastric cancer underwent distal gastrectomy with Billroth-I reconstruction. On postoperative day 2, she complained of respiratory distress. We suspected heart failure, and administered dopamine and furosemide. On postoperative day 3, an echocardiography revealed apical akinesis and her troponin T levels increased. Therefore, we suspected Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or acute myocardial infarction. We performed a coronary angiography, which revealed no significant stenosis in the coronary artery. We therefore diagnosed Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and discontinued dopamine. The patient was on non-invasive positive-pressure ventilation for 5 days. Abnormal ventricular movement on echocardiography disappeared during the next 2 weeks. The number of elderly patients requiring surgery will likely continue to increase in the future. Circulation dynamics and treatments takotsubo cardiomyopathy needs to be paid more attention.
