The Connection Between Opioid Withdrawal and Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: Case Reports of ‘Opioid Octopus Heart’

Abstract

Introduction Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (TCM) is an incompletely understood diagnosis. The leading hypothesis of its pathogenesis is that a hyperadrenergic state leads to cardiotoxicity, which is supported by case findings. Withdrawal from opioids is one potential etiology of an excessive adrenergic response and, therefore, may precipitate TCM. Case Presentations Here, we present 2 cases of TCM in patients who chronically used opioids, both at the same institution within 1 month of each other. The first patient is a 68-year-old man who presented with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation and did not disclose his long-standing opioid use disorder. One day after admission, he was found to be in opioid withdrawal and, soon after, developed TCM. He was originally treated for non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and opioid withdrawal but decompensated. He was sent to the intensive care unit (ICU) to receive pressors and fluid resuscitation. He soon recovered and his cardiac function returned to baseline. The second patient is a 33-year-old woman with opioid use disorder taking methadone who presented with lower extremity weakness, edema, and pain. She was diagnosed with infective endocarditis. While awaiting surgery and receiving antibiotics, she developed respiratory failure and was upgraded to the ICU. There was a lapse in her opioid treatment, and she subsequently developed TCM. She was treated with pressors and fluids in the ICU, and eventually recovered with reduced cardiac function at the time of discharge. Conclusions While clinical evidence indicated opioid withdrawal as the likely provoking factor for development of TCM in the first case, the second patient’s symptoms from other clinical complications confounded the cause of her TCM. Twelve similar cases have been reported in the literature, suggesting that opioid withdrawal may be associated with development of TCM. Further quantitative research is required to establish this relationship. Our findings contribute to the theoretical pathophysiology of TCM and offer important considerations for clinical management of opioid withdrawal.