{"id":486,"date":"2017-09-29T13:34:11","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T10:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/?p=486"},"modified":"2017-09-29T14:20:15","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T11:20:15","slug":"when-your-broken-heart-becomes-an-actual-health-condition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.findmecure.com\/blog\/when-your-broken-heart-becomes-an-actual-health-condition\/","title":{"rendered":"When Your Broken Heart Becomes a Real \u0422hreat to Your Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s World Heart Day today and as well as providing you with useful facts, we at FindMeCure<\/a> decided to talk about a bit of an obscure condition \u2013 Broken Heart Syndrome. This is no joke: Broken Heart Syndrome is a thing and it can have serious consequences, there is, in fact, an established connection between mental health issues such as depression and heart disease.<\/p>\n

So what is Broken Heart Syndrome?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, technically the correct term is \u201cstress-induced cardiomyopathy\u201d. It’s also called “Takotsubo cardiomyopathy”, named after the Japanese word for a kind of octopus trap because the left ventricle takes on a shape resembling a fishing pot.<\/p>\n

And yes, not for a surprise, there’s a huge clinical trial on Broken Heart Syndrome (Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy) on FindMeCure<\/a>. It’s recruiting right now in Switzerlan<\/strong>d (Sponsor: University of Zurich) and more than 30 other locations in Europe and the US<\/strong>. \u00a0So, if curious to learn more about it, follow the button below. \u00a0However, I advise you to first get to the end of this article, so you know what you will be dealing with.<\/p>\nShow Me This Trial Now<\/a>\n

Broken Heart Syndrome<\/a> is when a surge of stress hormones leads to an intense chest pain, typically after a heart-breaking event like divorce or separation, death of a loved one or another such loss, and women are more prone to it than men are. Even though there are no blocked coronary arteries, BHS can be and often is misdiagnosed as a heart attack. In a nutshell, if you are experiencing Broken Heart Syndrome, a part of your heart doesn\u2019t pump well and other parts of the heart try to compensate by pumping more forcefully.<\/p>\n

The bad news is<\/strong>, this could lead to cardiogenic shock \u2013 this is when the heart can\u2019t pump enough blood and it could be fatal if not treated immediately. On the positive side<\/strong>, however, unlike the heart attack, which too can lead to cardiogenic shock, BHS\u2019s recovery time is much shorter \u2013 patient\u2019s health improves within weeks. The symptoms are easy to recognise, but keep in mind they can just as easily be mistaken for heart attack symptoms \u2013 sudden and intense chest pain, shortness of breath. After a full recovery, the odds of experiencing a BHS again are fairly low.<\/p>\n

So, now that you know a person\u2019s heart can almost literally break, even when no of the typical heart health dangers are present (such as smoking or obesity), we urge you to be more gentle with yourself and others<\/strong>. Even the banalities of everyday life (who hasn\u2019t lost at least a dozen people throughout the course of their life?) can have a huge impact on our physical condition.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Cathal Mac an Bheatha on Unsplash.
FindMeCure\/Broken Heart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heart disease is among the leading causes of death in most of the developed countries and considering the figurative meaning of the heart, it is frightening to realise that even though we generally have a high standard of living, we are not particularly good at looking after our hearts. Besides bad eating habits, physical inactivity and smoking, stress is the main influence over heart health conditions, so even if you lead a health-conscious life, take a look at the way you handle stressful situations.<\/p>\n

Now, here are some facts and stats about heart health, as well as some things you will want to consider if you\u2019re looking to protect your heart.<\/p>\n