Introduction. Stress cardiomyopathy, or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is an acute, reversible left ventricular dysfunction usually initiated by a psychological or physical stress. We report this case of stress cardiomyopathy following a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation and the subsequent treatment. Case Description. A 49-year-old white female with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented to the emergency room via emergency medical services with worsening severe shortness of breath and productive cough for 2 weeks but denied any chest pain on arrival. On presentation, she was noted to be tachypneic, using her accessory muscles and with bilateral coarse expiratory wheezing on lung auscultation. Initial electrocardiogram demonstrated sinus tachycardia. She was treated with multiple albuterol treatments. Soon afterwards, the course was complicated by hypoxic respiratory failure eventually requiring intubation. Her repeat electrocardiogram showed acute changes consistent with myocardial infarction, and an echocardiograph demonstrated apical akinesia with an ejection fraction of 25% to 30%. The patient was urgently taken for cardiac catheterization, which showed no angiographic evidence of coronary artery disease. Three days after initial presentation, a repeat transthoracic echocardiogram showed overall left ventricular systolic function improvement. Discussion. This case provided a unique look at the difficulty of balancing catecholamines in a patient with bronchospasm and stress cardiomyopathy.

62-year-old female presents with hypertensive urgency while taking daily NSAIDs. This case demonstrates the effect of NSAIDs on BP, an often over-looked etiology of secondary hypertension. The detrimental effects of NSAIDs upon blood pressure have been well documented. The report reiterates and reviews the severity of the problem. We will review the existing literature and discuss the importance of small increases in blood pressure. This paper has not been submitted elsewhere, is not under review, or published previously and all of the authorship are aware of and approve the manuscript being submitted to this journal. Keywords: Hypertension; NSAID-induced hypertension; Chronic pain Case ReportHigh pressure situation A 62 year-old white female with no documented past medical history of hypertension or any other chronic disease state presented to the Emergency department with severe occipital headache and was found to have hypertensive urgency, with initial blood pressure (BP) of 225/110 mmHg ( Figure 1). She had started taking OTC ibuprofen 3200 mg to 4000 mg daily for three weeks due to cervical-spine radicular pain. Her clinical course is outlined in detail in Table 1. Physical exam revealed flushing and mild non-pitting edema of the digits. Ophthalmologic and cardiac exams were normal as was the ECG. Initial work-up revealed a normal renal function with 2+ proteinuria on urinalysis, mild hypokalaemia that resolved spontaneously, and a CT head that was negative for haemorrhage. She initially received 0.2 mg of clonidine and the ibuprofen was discontinued. When she saw her primary care physician the following day, BP was 170/100 mmHg; she was started on 100/25 mg of losartan/HCT, an angiotensin-receptor blocker/thiazide combination and 5 mg of amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker, for Stage II hypertension. The patient was then seen by a hypertension specialist; 5 mg nebivolol, a β1 cardioselective vasodilating β-blocker, was added and home BP measurements were initiated. Home BP documented that BPs soon decreased to <120/80 mmHg, after which amlodipine and losartan/HCT were tapered off and nebivolol alone continued. The patient was noted to have a white-coat hypertension pattern, but on continued follow up has done very well as again indicated in Table 1. It does appear that she had pre-existing hypertension prior to her acute episode. DiscussionNSAID-induced hypertension nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently used medications in the USA; more than 29 million adults are reported to be regular users of NSAIDs [1]. Often thought of as benign medications, NSAIDs have been shown to have a number of serious side effects including hypertension, renal failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, bronchospasm, and severe cardiovascular complications such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and congestive heart failure. This case demonstrates the effect of NSAIDs on BP, an often over-looked etiology of secondary hypertension. We will review the existing literature and discuss the impo...