UNASSIGNED: Release of norepinephrine (NE) from neuronal cardiac nerve endings and/or blood-borne catecholamines (CATs), mainly epinephrine (EPI), may mediate TTS. The aim of this study was to document the levels of NE, EPI, and dopamine (DA) in patients with TTS.
UNASSIGNED: A qualitative/quantitative meta-analysis of CATs and their relationship to age, gender, and triggers, was carried out, employing the world literature on TTS, published in PubMed.
UNASSIGNED: NE/EPI/DA in108 patients with TTS, 65.2 ± 16.4 years old, 89 (82.4%) women, revealed that: NE was measured more frequently than EPI, and EPI than DA; the timing of the measurements was variable; CATs were reported variably (qualitatively/quantitatively/with/without upper limits of normal); NE/EPI or NE/EPI/DA rose to the same degree; CATs were normal, or mildly/moderately elevated, with only 6 patients showing markedly elevated NE/EP/DA; NE, EPI, and DA were similar in patients with physical triggers and NE was similar in patients with physical, emotional, or no triggers (p = 0.47); EPI was higher than NE in patients with emotional triggers and EPI was higher in patients with emotional than physical triggers (p = 0.012); NE, EPI, and DA rose to the same proportion in men and women; types of TTS triggers were distributed proportionally in men and women.
UNASSIGNED: NE, EPI, and DA rise proportionally in patients with TTS; CATs are mildly/moderately, and rarely markedly elevated; measurements of CATs should become more systematised; although CATs may not be essential for TTS diagnosis, they may contribute to prognosis and elucidation of the pathophysiology of TTS.