Broken heart syndrome: Heartbreaks can kill lovers
We’ve all heard the expression “heartbreak”. It is often used in novels, poems and TV shows when it comes to the betrayal of a loved one or other unpleasant situation in his personal life. Absolutely everyone is sure that this is a metaphor, a figurative expression that has no medical connotation. But this is not so – Swiss scientists have conducted serious research and it is possible that very soon “broken heart syndrome” will become a medical term.
Dr. Elena Gadri from the University Hospital of Zurich, with a team of like-minded people, set themselves the task of determining the mechanism that links human emotions and their cardiovascular system. The result of the study confirmed the well-known fact that the heart can suffer due to some unfortunate event, but now doctors have seriously advanced in the study of this phenomenon.
The responsibility for the negative impact on the heart, as it turned out, lies entirely with our brain. Serious stress causes such a dangerous condition as acute transient left ventricular dysfunction, which is accompanied by heart failure, chest pain, and an ECG pattern typical of myocardial infarction of the anterior wall of the left ventricle.
It seems to be nothing unusual – we all know that people with a weak heart can be struck down by a heart attack based on negative emotions. But Swiss scientists have found that the danger exists even for absolutely healthy people and that in their case, cardiac dysfunction, most often, is a consequence of the death of a loved one or separation. That is why the phenomenon was called “broken heart syndrome” – this is a dangerous condition that should be avoided, first of all, by lovers of both sexes.
How the trigger of the broken heart syndrome works is not yet fully understood. In her article in the European Heart Journal, Dr. Elena Hardy only writes that our brain is solely responsible for a heart attack associated with the loss of a loved one. S
Such a phenomenon as “broken heart syndrome” is not a discovery for science. It was first described in 1990 by the Japanese scientist Hikaru Sato. This doctor called the syndrome in his own way – “takotsubo cardiomyopathy”, referring to the traditional Japanese pot “takotsubo” with a wide round base and a rather narrow neck.
This type of cardiomyopathy differs from a simple heart attack in that it is not caused by a blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot and a cessation of blood flow to the heart, but by a signal from the brain. At the same time, it is unlikely that it will be possible to distinguish between a normal attack and one associated with a “broken heart syndrome”.
The sensations in both cases are absolutely similar and they are pains in the region of the heart, shortness of breath, and panic. Scientists have also found that in rare cases, the syndrome can also manifest itself with great joy – at a wedding, after a successful job interview, when presenting a long-awaited gift. In some cases, “takotsubo cardiomyopathy” does not lead to serious consequences and the heart recovers on its own after a couple of days or weeks, while in others, a heart attack leads to death. The phenomenon is not so rare, given that in the UK every year the syndrome is found in 2500 patients.
It should be said that people who have suffered as a result of a personal tragedy do not always go to the doctor with heart problems, and not every time the causes of an attack are correctly identified by the doctors themselves. In this regard, it can be assumed that the “broken heart” is, if not a mass, then certainly a very common phenomenon in the UK. Swiss scientists asked 15 people who had previously been diagnosed with broken heart syndrome and 39 people who were not familiar with this phenomenon to take part in the study. Tomography of volunteers from different groups showed very different results.
In healthy people, the connection of the brain regions responsible for emotions with the unconscious reactions of the body, including the heartbeat, was minimal, and it would be extremely difficult to upset them before a heart attack. Research has not yet been completed and the Swiss will have to find out the nature of this syndrome and find a way to avoid the sad consequences of its manifestation.
