Six-month follow-up of takotsubo cardiomyopathy with I-123-beta-metyl-iodophenyl pentadecanoic acid and I-123-meta-iodobenzyl-guanidine myocardial scintigraphy.

A 69-year-old man with a history of transient chest pain was diagnosed takotsubo cardiomyopathy. In I-123-beta-metyl-iodophenyl pentadecanoic acid myocardial scintigraphy, decreased uptake of apex was seen in the acute phase, and it recovered in 3 months. In I-123-meta-iodobenzyl-guanidine myocardial scintigraphy, decreased uptake of apex persisted for 6 months, and there was a discrepancy between apical and total washout rate in the acute phase and after 3 months, which disappeared after 6 months. We speculate that the discrepancy of sympathetic innervation between the apical and basal region is the cause of the characteristic left ventricular apical akinesia of takotsubo cardiomyopathy.