February is American Heart Month.
And tonight, we take a closer look at a troubling new trend
seen during the pandemic.
Researchers at several top medical centers
have been tracking a spike in cases of so-called broken heart
syndrome.
It's a potentially deadly, stress-induced
heart attack that doctors say is disproportionately
impacting women.
ABC'S Devin Dwyer reports.
My heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest.
DEVIN DWYER: For Mary Kay Abramson,
it was a heart attack without the usual symptoms
or warning signs.
It just felt like the blood just couldn't get
through the heart fast enough.
DEVIN DWYER: After being rushed to the hospital by helicopter,
her doctor made a surprising diagnosis.
Then he comes up to my head and says,
have you been under a lot of stress.
Because your arteries look fine.
I said, a little bit.
I've been furloughed for three months
because COVID's going on.
DEVIN DWYER: It was a case of takotsubo cardiomyopathy
or broken heart syndrome, a rare but potentially deadly
form of heart disease triggered by intense
emotional or physical stress.
Researchers say cases have likely spiked substantially
during the pandemic.
I've always considered myself to be a very healthy person.
DEVIN DWYER: 34-year-old Jenna Pilja
thought she was mentally prepared to give birth
during COVID, but says she was suddenly overcome
after an emergency c-section.
Despite being on pain medication,
I was able to feel some concerning symptoms.
Do you think there was a trigger?
Hearing that my son might not have been OK,
that certainly could have triggered me.
As cardiologists, we always think the heart
is the most important organ.
It's the brain.
And the brain controls everything.
DEVIN DWYER: The brain-heart connection
is at the center of groundbreaking research
by Doctor Noel Bairey Merz at Smidt Heart Institute
at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where inside the hospital's
high-tech simulation center, saw firsthand
how stress can break a heart.
So panel B is the broken heart, just to set us up.
Panel A is normal.
It kind of looks like a valentine heart.
The ballooning that you see in B is abnormal.
It's not a heart attack, but it's not pumping efficiently.
So the patient can be in shock.
They can be having damage to internal organs.
And that's why this can be deadly.
DEVIN DWYER: Bairey Merz found cases of broken hearts
are soaring among women, rising 10 times faster than among men
in the last decade.
So not to trivialize it, but is
it too much to say that COVID has
literally been breaking hearts?
I don't know how much we can really blame COVID
and how much of this is that we're
just recognizing more of it.
Heart disease is the leading killer of women at all ages,
including teenagers, midlife women, and older women.
This is just a component of that major killer.
You know, you hear people say oh, she's
broken hearted or somebody's broken hearted
because they had a breakup or something
or like something fictional.
And then they come in with this as a real diagnosis.
It was just like unbelievable to me.
DEVIN DWYER: Zearlisha Kinchelow of Kansas City
says it was stress from nursing school
and the death of her aunt that hurt her heart.
They just told me I was at 10% heart function.
DEVIN DWYER: For Elaine Kamil of LA,
it was immense grief after the sudden death
of her 31-year-old son.
I just was overwhelmed with grief.
The pain was severe.
I was lucky.
Make sure that wherever you're seeing,
the cardiologist understands takotsubo
and what the best treatments are.
DEVIN DWYER: While many hearts heal quickly,
scientists say there could be long-term impact.
Dr. Bairey Merz says one in five people
who suffers a broken heart will have
another attack within 10 years.
How do you take care of your heart?
I exercise every day.
I'm predominantly vegetarian.
I don't smoke.
I don't meditate.
I probably should.
You're working on that.
Not enough time.
Taking care of yourself is definitely more than just
taking care of your body.
It's really about looking after your mental health
and your overall well-being.
Because that truly is connected to the heart.
Absolutely.
Very necessary report there, our Thanks to Devin.