Broken Heart: Rare Syndrome Causes Heart Problems Due to Stress
Emotional stress can trigger syndrome, put middle-age women at risk.
Feb. 10, 2010— -- There's a saying that no one ever died from a broken heart, but science shows it can still do a lot of damage. For a person with what's known as broken heart syndrome, an emotional stress like the death of a loved one can cause a seemingly healthy heart to stop working normally.
Doctors estimate 1 to 2 percent of patients who are diagnosed with a heart attack in the U.S. are actually suffering broken heart syndrome. It's easy to understand why -- patients have many of the same symptoms as a heart attack, including chest pains and shortness of breath.
Inside the body, though, broken heart syndrome looks very different from a heart attack. While a heart attack is usually caused by blocked arteries, medical experts believe broken heart syndrome is caused by a surge in adrenaline and other hormones. When patients experience an adrenaline rush in the aftermath of a stressful situation, the heart muscle may be overwhelmed and become temporarily weakened. The left ventricle of the heart takes on a cone-like shape that resembles a Japanese pot used to capture an octopus. That shape gives the condition its medical name -- Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Broken heart syndrome can occur following any kind of stress -- everything from a death in the family to fear of public speaking. It can also be caused by physical stress, like an asthma attack or seizure. In a study of some 254 broken heart syndrome patients, the American Journal of Cardiology found that 27 percent of patients had suffered an emotional stress, 39 percent a physical stress, and 24 percent couldn't identify a stress at all.
The vast majority of broken heart syndrome sufferers are women -- studies suggest that 90 to 95 percent of patients are female, and most of them have already gone through menopause. Experts aren't sure why middle-aged women are at greater risk for a broken heart, but sex differences in hormones are one possible cause.
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