Apical ballooning cardiomyopathy (Takotsubo or ampulla cardiomyopathy) is a well-known transient and localized left ventricular (LV) dysfunction characterized by apical severe hypokinesis, typical electrocardiogram (ECG) changes of negative T, and a lack of organic lesions of the coronary arteries which could cause myocardial ischemia leading to segmental asynergy. Here we report on two cases of transient cardiomyopathy showing atypically localized asynergy, which is different from Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Case 1 was diagnosed as atypical Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, and the current findings suggest case 2 was viral myocarditis. These cases suggest that there exist variant patterns of transient cardiomyopathy, and non-invasive and serial clinical evaluations are important for differential diagnosis in acute and atypical cardiomyopathy.
Cardiomyopathy ; Acute ; Cases ; Localized ; Atypical

Background: and Purpose To assess the long-term outcomes of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) alone or embolization and SRS (Emb-SRS) and to develop a grading system for predicting DAVF obliteration. Methods: This multi-institutional retrospective study included 200 patients with DAVF treated with SRS or Emb-SRS. We investigated the long-term obliteration rate and obliteration-associated factors. We developed a new grading system to estimate the obliteration rate. Additionally, we compared the outcomes of SRS and Emb-SRS by using propensity score matching. Results: The 3- and 4-year obliteration rates were 66.3% and 78.8%, respectively. The post-SRS hemorrhage rate was 2%. In the matched cohort, the SRS and Emb-SRS groups did not differ in the rates of obliteration (P=0.54) or post-SRS hemorrhage (P=0.50). In multivariable analysis, DAVF location and cortical venous reflux (CVR) were independently associated with obliteration. The new grading system assigned 2, 1, and 0 points to DAVFs in the anterior skull base or middle fossa, DAVFs with CVR or DAVFs in the superior sagittal sinus or tentorium, and DAVFs without these factors, respectively. Using the total points, patients were stratified into the highest (0 points), intermediate (1 point), or lowest (≥2 points) obliteration rate groups that exhibited 4-year obliteration rates of 94.4%, 71.3%, and 60.4%, respectively (P<0.01). Conclusions SRS-based therapy achieved DAVF obliteration in more than three-quarters of the patients at 4 years of age. Our grading system can stratify the obliteration rate and may guide physicians in treatment selection.