Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in Down Syndrome: New Case Report From Spain

Out on PubMed, from clinicians in Spain, is this case report: 

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy secondary to electroconvulsive therapy in a young adult with Down syndrome regression disorder.

Ortega MDC, Bullard JP, Del Mar Unceta M, Sánchez-Pedreño FO, Molero P, de Asúa DR.Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet. 2023 Dec 1:e32078. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.c.32078. Online ahead of print.PMID: 38041246

The abstract is copied below:

We report the case of an 18-year-old woman with Down syndrome (DS) who developed Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TSC) immediately after the administration of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a treatment prescribed for Down syndrome regression disorder resistant to oral psychotropic drugs. TSC is a nonischemic cardiomyopathy related to psychological or physical stress, which has been described as a rare complication of ECT (Kinoshita et al., 2023, Journal of Electroconvulsive Therapy, 39, 185-192). The clinical description of the case is accompanied by a discussion of the peculiarities of the autonomic nervous system in DS.

Keywords: Down syndrome (DS); Down syndrome regression disorder (DSRD); Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TSC); electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

The report is here.

And from the text:

Here is another case of TSC for the literature.

The clinical management seems to have been excellent. The lack of resumption of ECT leaves us wondering whether these clinicians will consider the benefit-risk ratio favorable enough to offer ECT(taking whatever cardiologic precautions are possible) if the patient has a severe relapse in the future.

Kudos to our Spanish colleagues for this useful contribution to the ECT literature.