Broken-heart attacks- Love really hurts
Dying from a broken heart is no longer just a cliche in love songs, with scientists proving it happens for real.
Known medically as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, it involves heart attack-like symptoms that seem to be triggered by a highly stressful emotional or physical event.
Us scientists examined 70 patients diagnosed with the condition between July 2004 and April last year.
While one in five were critically ill and needed emergency treatment, all survived and made full recoveries.
The syndrome was first described by Japanese researchers in early 1990s.
Experts believe the symptoms of broken-heart syndrome may be brought by a surge of stress hormones, such as adrenalin.
These may cause part of the heart to be temporarily weakened or become “stunned”
All patients in the study had heart attack-like symptoms including chest pain and shortness of breath.
In about two-thirds of cases, the patients had been exposed to some sort of physical or emotional distress, such as bad news about a family member, a domestic argument, severe physical illness or a car accident just before the onset.
A wide range of of disease severity was identified. Six patients arrived suffering from heart-induced shock, and three had abnormal and dangerous heart rhythms requiring emergency treatment.
One particular discovery made by the doctors was that the most cases occurred the spring and summer.
In contrast, the majority of normal heart attacks occur in the cold winter months.
