Takotsubo syndrome is a stress-induced cardiomyopathy with symptoms comparable to those of acute coronary syndrome but without coronary obstruction. Initially considered spontaneously reversible, the reversibility of takotsubo was challenged by epidemiological studies showing high morbi-mortality in the long term. Here we explore comprehensively cardiac metabolism, structure and function after a single acute stress. We show that a single pharmacological stress is sufficient to recapitulate the clinical signs of ventricular dysfunction of takotsubo and their apparent reversibility. Interestingly, myocardial glucose metabolic remodeling during the acute phase was also present throughout the late recovery phases. Metabolic stunning where high glucose uptake is derived from glycolysis into alternative non-oxidative pathways such as the hexosamine biosynthetic and polyol pathways parallels with irreversible tissue and vascular remodeling. This study evidences that stress-induced diversion of glucose metabolism is the cause of deleterious structural and functional sequelae in takotsubo hearts.