Broken Heart Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

Broken heart syndrome is a heart disease linked to stressful situations, both emotional and physical. It is a disease that can occur in healthy people, there does not have to be a concomitant cardiovascular disease.

It is usually a transitory pathology but it can even lead to the death of the patient.

What is broken heart syndrome?

Broken heart syndrome is a temporary heart condition that occurs in situations of extreme stress or nervousness. In this disease, the heart does not pump blood correctly because there is an alteration in a part of it. However, the rest of the organ behaves correctly.

Also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress cardiomyopathy, it is a disease that usually reverses on its own over days or weeks.

Takotsubo disease was first described in the 1990s in Asia and occurs normally in women and the elderly. Around 90% of the cases are associated with the female sex and the average age is around 65 years, as indicated by the Spanish Heart Foundation.

Some of the factors that can condition the appearance of this pathology are the following:

• Sex As we have already seen, this disease is much more related to women than to men.

• Age. Along with sex, it is one of the two most important factors. This syndrome has been seen to be more common in people over 50 years of age.

• History of a neurological disorder.  People with neurological disorders such as epilepsy are at greater risk of suffering from broken heart syndrome.
• History of a mental disorder. Some illnesses such as anxiety or depression increase the chances of suffering from this syndrome.

Symptoms of the syndrome

The symptoms of broken heart syndrome resemble those of myocardial infarction. Thus, some of the signs and signals that appear in the body with this disease are the following:

• Syncope.
• Hypotension
• Chest pain.
• Murmurs and arrhythmias.
• Difficulty breathing.

Attention should be paid to any chest pain that persists for some time as it could signify a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when there is a disturbance in the blood flow of the heart. This may be due to atherosclerosis, which is not part of the pathogenesis of broken heart syndrome.

Causes of broken heart syndrome

The exact cause of broken heart syndrome is not known. It is a disease that mainly affects postmenopausal women and can also be related to moments of great stress.

As a result of these extreme conditions, there is an increase in the release of adrenaline and other hormones, which produces a reduction in the caliber of the coronary vessels. This fact causes ischemia and a picture similar to that of a myocardial infarction.

However, in about half of the patients, there is no emotional factor involved. Despite this, some of the known triggers for broken heart syndrome are:

• Divorce.
• Accidents
• Surprise party.
• Intense discussions.
• Domestic violence
• Severe asthma attack
• Complicated surgeries.
• Cardiovascular accidents.
• Winning some important prize.
• Bad news: death of a close family member, etcetera.
• Issues related to loss of money or employment.

On some occasions, certain medications may cause this syndrome to appear. Among them we have the following:

• Adrenalin. This substance is used against severe allergic reactions or asthma attacks.

• Duloxetine. It is an antidepressant also used in people with diabetes.

• Levothyroxine.  Drug used in hypothyroidism.

Treatment of broken heart syndrome

There is no specific treatment for this syndrome. In most cases this is only symptomatic, trying to give the heart time to recover.

Thus, some of the most frequently used drugs are diuretics, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors. These drugs reduce the work of the heart and thus set the recovery time to about 3 weeks.

It is normal for a large part of patients to have a complete recovery, with the mortality rate from this disease being less than 7%. Likewise, relapses are not frequent but most people remain in the hospital while they recover.

Later, it will be recommended to do physical exercise  and practice some type of meditation or therapy, as they help to re-balance the body.