Tag Archive for: broken heart syndrome

How to Fix a Broken Heart

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What causes broken heart syndrome (BHS)? Most types of cardiomyopathy are idiopathic—no one really knows how it happens. In the case of BHS, there’s a severe stressor, good or bad, that precipitates the symptoms. But what is actually going on? I found two potential explanations.

First, an excess amount of catecholamines are released in response to the stress. The theory is that this stuns the heart muscle and temporarily causes the muscle weakness. The second theory involves an increase in sympathetic activity in the heart. In short, the nerves that stimulate the heart to beat faster keep firing. Between the two factors, the heart tissue gives the symptoms of BHS.

Another factor may be hormone levels; BHS mostly happens to post-menopausal women over 55 years old. More research is needed to find out whether this is truly a factor or not.

The most important thing to know is that the effects are temporary; the heart tissue is not permanently damaged and can recover. Here’s the important point: the person still needs to be treated in a hospital. Left untreated, the person can die. Typical treatments may be medications to slow down the heart rate and reduce blood pressure. While there may be no blockages, all those tests may show excessive plaque, so changes in diet and medications may be warranted. Typically the heart can recover in a month or two with no permanent damage.

Can you prevent BHS? After all, not everyone who has a severe stress event gets BHS. It’s hard to say with certainty, but there are three things that may help. First, have a strong heart to begin with; exercise is critical for that. Second, find a way to deal with stress on a regular basis: yoga, prayer, meditation, counseling, whatever works for you—do it. It can help with the stress response.

Finally, never, never, ever ignore chest pain. In this case, I’m talking to my women readers. I rant all the time about men who ignore chest pain. Don’t be like them! Women take on the role of caregivers, and that’s so important to our society, but this is a time when you have to take care of yourself first. When in doubt, check it out.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Broken Hearts and Octopus Traps

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Broken heart syndrome (BHS) has several names, such as stress-induced cardiomyopathy. One you’ve probably never heard is takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

BHS is similar to other forms of cardiomyopathy in that the heart gets significantly weaker. If you view the appearance of the heart during echocardiography, the bottom of the heart, specifically the left ventricle, is weaker and balloons out more than normal when the heart contracts. Healthcare professionals in Japan thought it looked like the takotsubo, a pot used by Japanese fishermen for trapping octopus, thus the name.

The symptoms of BHS are severe pain deep in the chest along with shortness of breath. For some, there may be a build-up of fluid in the lungs that causes coughing and an inability to sleep lying down. It feels like a heart attack. Some of the changes in the EKG may look like a heart attack, but an angiogram will show no blockages causing a heart attack. Enzymes that rise during a heart attack will not follow the same pattern. The diagnosis can be confirmed by an echocardiogram which will show the ballooning effect.

On Saturday, I’ll finish up the treatment of BHS and what may help to prevent it.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Broken Heart Syndrome

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This week’s focus is on American Heart Month and specifically heart disease in women. While heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women, there’s one type of heart disease that affects more women than men: broken heart syndrome. Can you die from a broken heart? Absolutely. We’ll find out how this week.

Cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the muscle tissue of the heart. There are four major forms of cardiomyopathy and several minor ones that can affect men, women, and even children. Cardiomyopathy affects up to one in five people and most don’t know that they have it until serious symptoms start to develop. Shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling in the ankles are the first symptoms people may notice, and the symptoms get more severe as the heart continues to weaken. Treatment can range from medications to a heart transplant in severe cases.

Broken heart syndrome is a special type of cardiomyopathy. The primary cause is severe stress such as the death of a loved one, hence the name. It’s not limited to extreme bad news; extreme good news can initiate the process as well. I’ll explain what happens to the heart in Thursday’s post. Until then, give your loved ones extra hugs and kisses today. More than anything, give them the most important thing above all else: time.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: http://bit.ly/2kWCbsT