Review: transient left ventricular apical ballooning, broken heart syndrome, ampulla cardiomyopathy, atypical apical ballooning, or Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome, also called "Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy," is increasingly being recognized as a cause of cardiomyopathy occurring during stress, with characteristic apical ballooning appearance of the left ventricle and the finding of normal coronary arteries on angiogram. In this manuscript, we review the available literature about the pathogenesis and characteristics of this syndrome.