Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy, apical ballooning syndrome, broken-heart syndrome and stress cardiomyopathy are synonymous terms.The syndrome was first described in the Japanese literature in the early 1990s.The name of the syndrome is derived from a Japanese name for an octopus trap (tako-tsubo).The clinical presentation is similar to that of an acute myocardial infarction with chest pain being the most common symptom.The syndrome typically results in transient left ventricular apical hypokinesis or akinesis involving the mid and apical segments of the left ventricle.Although the findings frequently mimic those of an acute myocardial infarction, the abnormalities appear in the absence of significant coronary artery disease.