Cancer Rates High in Patients with Takotsubo Syndrome

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Roughly one in six patients with takotsubo syndrome (TTS) also has cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers studied a cohort of 1600 patients with TTS, an acute heart failure condition that can occur after severe psychological or physical stress. Malignancy rates were significantly higher among TTS patients than among similar patients with acute coronary syndrome (18% vs. 11%). The most common malignancies in TTS patients were breast and gastrointestinal cancers.

TTS patients with malignancy were more likely to have physical triggering factors — but less likely to have emotional stressors — than those without malignancy. Those with malignancy also had higher long-term mortality rates than those without.

In addition, the authors point out: "History of malignancy might increase the risk for TTS, and therefore, appropriate screening for malignancy should be considered in these patients."