[Transient left ventricular apical ballooning or the tako-tsubo syndrome].

Recently, Japanese authors have described a new clinical entity associating apical akidyskinesia and basal hyperkinesias without significant coronary artery disease under the name of the tako-tsubo syndrome. This syndrome is usually observed in elderly women and the clinical presentation is usually that of an acute coronary syndrome. The authors report 10 cases of patients investigated between June 2003 and August 2004.