A broken heart increases the risk of the heart failing for some. For several decades now, doctors have been diagnosing a condition of the heart known as Tako- tsubo cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome. To start with, people didn’t take it very seriously in comparison to other heart conditions even though it comes with the signs of a heart attack not to forget that it can also be very fatal. As originally though, this condition is not as benign as such and there is a high likelihood of the condition resulting in cardiac arrest. Broken heart syndrome can also be experienced easily by people having other medical conditions such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and even smoking.

Broken heart syndrome- symptoms

The first case of stress cardiomyopathy or Tako tsubo cardiomyopathy was recognized in 1991 in Japan. Of the cases identified, only 10 percent is made of men as it is commonly diagnosed among women. The symptoms that occur are abrupt and mainly include sudden breath shortness and chest pain. Even though it is triggered by a tragic event, there are times when symptoms will simply appear out of the blue. Getting unexpected good news has been found to trigger the condition. Ideally, the implication of this condition is that one is having a stressful event. However, about 15% of patients don’t actually have it.

When people with this condition take an echocardiogram test, their results are usually abnormal and for definite diagnosis of the condition, an angiogram must be administered for the blocked arteries to be ruled out. In addition, a CT scan or a cardiac MRI will also be used for examining the left ventricle of the heart since it tends to contract distinctively when one is having tako- tsubo cardiomyopathy. The abnormal contractions of the heart can actually be treated and tend to disappear after a period of between one and four weeks.

Broken heart syndrome and heart failure

A team of researchers examined 200 patients of tako tusbo cardiomyopathy to ascertain their medical histories at Minneapolis Heart Institute. A small group of these patients were found to have low blood pressure and severe heart failure. In efforts of boosting their blood pressure, aggressive treatments were given, which even included use of breathing machines. Despite these medical interventions, 9 of the patients in the group of 45 died and the dead patients were all female. They were identified to other risks like advanced stage cancer, advanced age, Alzheimer’s disease and even bleeding on the brain. It is worth noting that patients of broken heart syndrome who don’t have other medical conditions besides heart failure can survive. Even if a healthy person has both the broken heart syndrome and heart failure, they can still recover. Cases of in hospital deaths for broken heart syndrome are actually very rare, which shows that the treatment is usually very effective.