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A stinging sensation in the chest, pale skin, cold sweat, and a racing heart rate are symptoms that may indicate a broken heart. It is not, however, the metaphorical name of hurt feelings. A heart can really “break”. And scientists already know why.
- Broken heart syndrome can occur due to severe trauma, researchers argue
- There are severe symptoms that can even lead to cardiac arrest. Many people associate these ailments with a heart attack
- According to scientists, the disease can be caused by even seemingly harmless situations
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Broken heart syndrome is a disease
Broken heart syndrome, or stress cardiomyopathy, is associated with the immobilization of the tip. It is an important part of the heart muscle. When it becomes immobilized, the heart resembles a vessel for catching octopuses, with a narrow neck and a wide bottom. Hence comes another name of the disease – takotsubo syndrome (from the Japanese name of this vessel).
- See also: Broken Heart Syndrome. What do we know about him?
The ECG examination in people with broken heart syndrome shows the same changes as after a heart attack. Patients also have elevated levels of heart enzymes. However, there are no changes typical of coronary artery diseases within the coronary vessels.
Patients with broken heart syndrome are admitted to the hospital within 48 hours of some stressful situation. It can be a serious trauma, for example related to the death of a loved one or an accident. But sometimes less dramatic events also trigger serious symptoms – such as a colonoscopy.
The rest of the text is below the video.
What causes broken heart syndrome? New study
Until now, broken heart syndrome was thought to be caused by trauma. However, research by scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) sheds new light on this issue. According to the researchers, the problem does not start in the heart but in the brain.
The results of the research have been published in the “European Heart Journal”. A team of researchers analyzed brain scans of 104 patients (41 of them experienced broken heart syndrome). The goal was to discover whether increased stress-related metabolic activity in the brain increases the risk of developing broken heart syndrome.
“Increased activity in stress-related areas of the brain suggests that the person responds more actively to stress,” said Ahmed Tawakol, head of MGH’s nuclear cardiology department.
- The editorial office recommends: How will you know that stress has a negative impact on your health? [WE EXPLAIN]
The study found that increased activity in the brain’s amygdala led to the development of broken heart syndrome within a year. With moderate activity, this period extended to several years.
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“We’ve shown that TTS doesn’t just happen because someone experiences a rare, frightening event, such as the death of a spouse or child, as a classic example,” explained Ahmed Tawakol. The scientist admitted that increased brain activity related to stress could lead to the development of the syndrome when faced with more common stressors. “Even with routine colonoscopy or broken bones,” Tawakol added.
According to the researchers, lowering stress-related brain activity may reduce the risk of developing broken heart syndrome. It can also be a way to prevent it from happening again in people who have experienced takotsubo syndrome in the past.
Broken heart syndrome symptoms
Broken heart syndrome manifests itself in a similar way to myocardial infarction, acute failure or coronary artery disease. The person experiencing it experiences sudden pain in the chest which may spread to the shoulders. Among the common symptoms of broken heart syndrome are also fast and weak heart rate, drop in blood pressure, fast and deep breathing, low body temperature and even disturbed consciousness. The skin turns pale and cold, it is covered with sweat.
It also happens that ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac arrest occur as a result of the broken heart syndrome.
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