“Broken Heart Syndrome” or Takotsubo Heart Disease, is a temporary acute stress induced Heart failure, which mimics the presentation of a heart attack.

https://womensnewlookandhealthin21stcentury.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/videoleap-6826ddc6-0be4-4ad4-963b-11dfea1114d1.mov

It is a fairly common condition seen nowadays in cardiology. As mysterious as it sounds, the symptoms are always taken as a heart attack , and the condition requires extensive cardiology work up to diagnose and treat .

It is more common in women, at any age,  and  can occur in healthy, no risk prone individuals. As the name implies, it’s triggered by a mental stressor, an emotional strong conflict, which overpowers the ability of your body and heart to cope with.

It causes a transient dilatation of your heart, like heart failure, and evidence of a heart attack. It has the power to mimic the symptoms of a heart attack for a patient and make the cardiologists believe is a true heart condition until proven otherwise

The clear cause of the syndrome it’s not well understood . It’s believed to be triggered by a huge surge of stress hormone , adrenaline , followed by constriction of the heart arteries and temporary loss of blood supply .

Some potential triggers of broken heart syndrome ( Sources: Prasad A, et al. American Heart Journal (2008), Vol. 155, No. 3, pp. 408–17; others.)

• News of an unexpected death of a loved one

• A frightening medical diagnosis

• Domestic abuse

• Losing — or even winning — a lot of money

• Strong arguments

• A surprise party

• Having to perform publicly

• Job loss

• Divorce

• Physical stressors, such as an asthma attack, a car accident or major surgery

Some drugs may contribute to broken heart syndrome include:

• Epinephrine (EpiPen, EpiPen Jr.),

• Duloxetine (Cymbalta),

• Venlafaxine (Effexor XR),

• Levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levoxyl),

Takotsubo symptoms and initial testings are indistinguishable from those of a heart attack.

Chest pain , shortness of breath

Abnormal cardiac enzymes , used to diagnose a heart attack

Abnormal EKG

Signs of heart failure and the typical ” octopus trap vase” appearance on the Echocardiography

What’s different in Takotsubo Syndrome compared to Heart attack

• An angiogram will reveal a clot and cholesterol plaque blockage in heart attack but no abnormalities , or ” clean arteries ” in Takotsubo
• Heart failure and symptoms improve even without treatment in less than a month in most cases .