Complete reverse remodeling in acute stress cardiomyopathy. Is preserved tissue contractility under stress related to reverse remodeling

Acute stress cardiomyopathy is the unique disease which represents exaggerated and dysfunctional regions of the same cardiac tissue at the same episode. The impressive clinical course which involves the specific region is the stress-mediated exaggerated function of LV base under acutely developed stress induction. After abolishment of stress induction, dysfunctional part of LV which is the midapical myocardium undergoes a complete tissue functional recovery. The evolution of reverse remodeling in acute stress cardiomyopathy has been described using 2 and 3-dimen-sional echocardiography in the literature. This is the second report regarding reverse LV remodeling in acute stress cardiomyopathy in which we rather evaluate the underlying mechanisms leading complete reverse LV remodeling of dysfunctional myocardium. Therefore, we focus on the existence of preserved and exaggerated regional tissue under stress which possibly represents the predicted myocardial tissue recovery in this acute clinical entity. We also discuss the potential contribution of short-term disease course and lack of prior disease episodes to complete reverse remodeling differently from the heavy burden of chronic diseases leading to permanent tissue jeopardy.