Broken Heart Syndrome: 3 Things To Keep In Mind

Broken heart syndrome is a condition that was first described in 1990.  Until then, many of its symptoms were not fully understood. From that date it was known that it was a heart disease related to emotions.

It is also known as Takotsubo syndrome and in 85% of cases it is triggered by an emotional event or a situation of high stress. The changes that the heart undergoes after this impact appear minutes or hours later.

This heart condition is more common in women, but it is not life threatening. It does involve, yes, having to spend a few days in intensive care. In most cases, patients recover.

However, one of these episodes is still “a warning” that there are emotions that are not being managed properly . Here we give you three facts so that you know how broken heart syndrome occurs.

Broken heart syndrome and myocardial infarction

Broken heart syndrome, or Takotsubo, is a cardiomyopathy that appears abruptly and unpredictably, with no previous heart problems. The symptoms are usually the following:

• Severe pain in the chest
• Difficulty breathing (shortness of breath and feeling short of breath).

Most patients go to the emergency room with the assurance that they are having a heart attack. The clinical picture is usually very similar to that of a myocardial infarction and is visible both in biochemical tests and in the electrocardiogram.

However, in this case the coronary arteries of the patients are healthy and do not present abnormalities, which gives one of the first clues to differentiate this ailment from a heart attack.

Many times, the doctors themselves are faced with the challenge of differentiating one clinical picture from another; For this reason, the most frequent is to admit the patient to intensive care to monitor all his vital signs.

The definitive test to diagnose broken heart syndrome is an X-ray study. This allows the visualization of a small anomaly in the left ventricle , characteristic of this syndrome.

What really is broken heart syndrome?

The first time this disease was described was in Japan. It was given the name of Takotsubo by the association that was made with a type of vessels used by fishermen, the Tako-Tsubo; These are somewhat domed and with a narrow neck.

The heart of patients suffering from this disease temporarily presents a similar shape. The modification in this organ is due  to the following causes :

• After an emotional shock, bad news, a very intense disappointment or a very high stress situation, the heart undergoes a small change in the left ventricle.

• This change in cardiac structure is due to an excessive release of catecholamines, substances similar to adrenaline that, in very high doses, have a “toxic” effect on the heart.
• You suffer from tachycardia, chest pain, dizziness, dizziness, sweating, increased blood pressure, and so on. All that biochemical impact causes the heart muscle to change, but that change in the left atrium is temporary.

Mortality from broken heart syndrome is 5%.  People who suffer complications are those who have previous illnesses or an advanced age. However, the most common is to spend a few days in the hospital and recover in a few weeks.

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Women and broken heart syndrome

As indicated by some population and gender studies on broken heart syndrome, this condition is more common in women between the ages of 50 and 65.

The incidence in men does not usually exceed 10%. It is important to take into account the following information:

• According to the Spanish Heart Foundation, the people most at risk of suffering from broken heart syndrome are  non-smoking postmenopausal women with normal levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar.
• The most common is that they are women with a very active life who, at a given moment, suffer an intense emotional impact: the death of a relative, the diagnosis of a serious illness, a sentimental problem, a high level of family stress, etc. .
• Doctors recall the need to try to properly manage these situations as far as possible.

In conclusion…

Broken heart syndrome is a condition that arises from improper management of emotions. Although it sounds easy to say, it is necessary to prevent the emotions are overflowing  to the point of losing control.

If this happens, the brain reacts and causes that dangerous release of catecholamines that directly affect the heart. It is important to keep this in mind and strengthen self-control.