What is Broken Heart Syndrome?

There is hope for people suffer from "Broken Heart Syndrome", a condition first described by Japanese researchers in the early 1990s

Patients with this condition, called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy,transient apical ballooning or stress cardiomyopathy, are often misdiagnosed as having a masive heart attack.

In fact, what they have suffered from is a surge in adrenalin(epinephrine) and other stress hormones tha have temporaily stunned the heart.

This could be brought on by distressing news, such as the unexpected death of a loved one.

According to Reuters report, Dr Richard REgnante from Warren Alert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, and his colleagues, said that it appears that the syndrome is temporary and completely reversible.

The symptoms typically mimic a heart attack and tend to soon after an intense physical or emotional event. However, the long term outlook is excellent and nearly all patients experience a full recovery of heart condition.

The researchers created a registry of 70 patients with the syndrome who were diagnosed between July 2004 and April last year.

2/3 of them nearly all post menopausal women had experienced a very stressful physical or emotional event just before arriving at the hospital with heart attack like symptoms, including chest pain and shortness of breath.

Although 20 per cent of these patients were critically ill and required emergency treatment to keep them alive, all patients survived the first 48hours and experienced a full and complete recovery.

"It can be difficult for cardiologists and ER physicians to diagnose and manage patients with broken heart syndrome," Dr Regnante said.

"However, these data will help us beter understand the disease process and could play a major role in developing and tailoring more effective short and long term treatment strategies."

Source : The Straits Times