Vnitr Lek 2002, 48(Supplement 1):210-212

[Is the negative T-wave on the ECG always a sign of ischemia? (human stress cardiomyopathy?) ].

V Rozsíval: Kardiocentrum I. interní kliniky Fakultní nemocnice, Hradec Králové.

A 74-year-old woman was admitted on account of chest pain which developed after a death in the family. On the ECG on admission there were negative T waves (the picture of extensive subapicardial ischaemia). Coronarography made on the subsequent day was quite normal. The laboratory finding (CK, CK-MB, AST) did not suggest an acute coronary attack. Ultrasound examination of the heart revealed only slight hypokinesia of the anterior wall. ECG returned to normal within 3 months. Four years later the patient is asymptomatic. The ECG finding and clinical course suggest the clinical entity of "stress cardiomyopathy", which is not a well known and unequivocally accepted diagnosis.