Transient Mid-Ventricular Ballooning Due to Bad Dream in a Postmenopausal Woman

Abstract

Mid ventricular ballooning syndrome (MBS) was diagnosed in a 55-year-old woman who was admitted to emergency room due to acute chest pain. The trigger for the chest pain was reported as "bad dream" about her husband. MBS, a variant of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy is more common in postmenopausal women and the triggers have been linked to stress involving the husband. Sudden catecholamine surge during nightmare augmented by estrogen deficiency in postmenopausal women may be the underlying mechanism. There are many unanswered questions related to the etiology of MBS. With supportive treatment, prognosis is excellent.

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“…Our patient with history of generalized anxiety disorder presented with a recurrent episode of TTS following a severe and vividly frightening nightmare. To our knowledge this is a very rare presentation with few reported incidents [10]. Our case adds to the few cases of nightmare induced TTS, all of which occurred in patients with a history of depressive anxiety disorder.…”