When Juanita, one of my patients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, he entered the emergency unit, it appeared that he was the victim of a heart attack. The chest pain and shortness of breath made him think. After all the tests there were no results for test it, because his arteries were perfect. However, an echocardiogram or ultrasound showed that his heart was contracting only a third of normal, as if asleep. At that time, I remembered that Juanita had lost the man who accompanied her for 50 years. Then I found the answer to what was happening.
In the United States is known as Broken Heart Syndrome while in reality his name is apical ballooning syndrome or as it is called in Japan, Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. Symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath, are very similar to those of a heart attack, but affects only the heart muscle and the coronary arteries.
Has nothing to do with risk factors for common cardiac conditions, but with stress, emotions and loss. According to studies, the condition is due to an increase of some hormones like adrenaline in times of stress. Not clog arteries like a heart attack, but the muscle suffers and is weakened too much.
It's so easy to confuse it with a heart attack, estimated that between 1 and 2 percent of those who are diagnosed as victims of one, actually they have is Broken Heart Syndrome.
Lack of awareness of this clinical phenomenon, but it is known that particularly affects post-menopausal women as love blossoms in spring, apparently, also the breaks, because between this season and summer, most often occur cases this disorder.
It pays to be clear that:
- In general, it is not a fatal condition.
- With medication and intensive care often heal.
- No sequelae.
To avoid misdiagnosis, it is vital to tell your doctor if you are going through a stressful emotional situation as a loss. Not so easy to rebuild a broken heart, but in these cases, with time, treatment and a new hope, always returns to beat.
Dr. Juan Jose Rivera
Renowned Cardiologist, Medical Adviser to Telemundo
