Cardiogenic shock due to tachycardiomyopathy after heart transplantation: successful treatment with ivabradine.

Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy refers to an impairment in left-ventricular function due to chronic or prolonged tachycardia. We describe a heart transplant patient who developed cardiogenic shock due to tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. Low-output failure was further aggravated by administration of a short-acting beta-blocker during invasive hemodynamic monitoring. In contrast, heart rate control by administration of increasing doses of ivabradine supported recovery from cardiogenic shock and led to an improvement in the patient's clinical condition as well as left-ventricular function during follow-up.