After a painful event such as divorce or the death of a member of his family, some people may suffer from chest pain and shortness of breath – as a result of colloquially known as “broken heart syndrome”.
The syndrome, which doctors officially calls the Takotsubo heart disease, is believed to be operated by physical or emotional stress, which release bursts of stress hormones such as adrenaline that prevent people from contracting properly. Most patients recover quickly, but a small minority suffers from heart failure.
Although broken heart syndrome is the most common in women, men die more than twice the rate A study was published on Wednesday In the American Heart Association magazine.
The study analyzed data from nearly 200,000 adults in the United States who were transferred to the hospital with broken heart syndrome from 2016 to 2020. Data is strengthened. Previous studies That showed High death rates in men.
“It seems that it is constantly that men do not get Tacoutopo’s syndrome with the same amount, but when they do it, they do worse,” said Dr. Harmouni Reynolds, director of Sarah Ross Sotter Center for Cardiovascular Research for Women at New York University, Langon Health, who was not involved in the study.
Cardiologists said that the differences between men and women may be related to what raises their circumstances. In men, broken heart syndrome is usually brought with physical pressure, such as surgery or stroke. In women, the motivation is usually emotional, such as losing a job or a member of his family.
“People with emotional stress are actually working well,” said Dr. Ilan Vichtein, a heart disease specialist Jones Hopkins, who was not part of the new research.
“Men may be more likely to die and have bad results because they are less likely to start,” he said. “Therefore, it is more dangerous to deposit the syndrome.”
The lead author of the study, Dr. Mohamed Movaheed, said that men may face more difficult time to recover from broken heart syndrome since It tends to obtain fewer social support To help them manage stress.
“If you have this stressful trigger, and the tension does not escape, this is possible that this continues to harm the heart, or at least reduce the chance of recovery.”
But scientists still have remaining questions about what leads the syndrome, and why people die from them in rare cases.
“People are still looking for the holy cup for the reason for this condition,” said Vitchtein.
Is stress the only trigger?
To ensure that the person has broke the heart syndrome, doctors are looking for some specific signs. In a typical patient, a portion of the heart muscle like a balloon is expanded, but they do not have a prohibited artery, which is usually associated with heart attacks. Most patients can also refer to an exhausting event that has already had an episode.
“The pressure we bear in our daily life, physical and emotional, can actually repair us,” said Dr. Matthew Tommy, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Vester Hospital in New York City. “You can feel the pain of the heart in those moments, and there may be literally some types of heart that accompanies it.”
But Vitchin said that stress alone may not be sufficient to cause broken heart syndrome.
He said: “Some people feel a little frustrated at work, or someone was wandering a little strongly, or that someone was stuck in a red light and was upset.”
Reynolds said one of her patients has a four -time syndrome – every event that was deposited by the simple stomach errors that caused vomiting.
She said, “She really hates vomiting and will throw and start,” she said.
Vicctein now believes that some patients may have an essential sensitivity to penetration from broken heart syndrome. His research indicates that stress hormones can weaken small blood vessels surrounding the heart, which reduces blood flow. He said this would make some people, such as those who suffer from high blood pressure or high cholesterol in the blood, are more likely.
Research has also shown that after menopause women are more likely to broken heart syndrome. This may be partially due to a decrease in estrogen, which helps to expand the small blood vessels around the heart.
But Reynolds said that there is not enough research to know this for sure.
She said: “It is clear on the level that sexual hormones are involved, but trying to draw this link and really connect the points, we have not yet reached there.”
It is difficult to treat, it is difficult to prevent it
Cardiologists said that the puzzles surrounding the broken heart syndrome can make it difficult to prevent or treat.
Doctors sometimes prescribe medications used in other heart issues, such as beta blockers, or finding ways to help people reduce stress, such as meditation and talking to a mental health worker.
“We have not yet found anything – any medicine, any specific treatment – can reduce complications or reduce deaths,” said Movahed.
His new study found that the deaths caused by broken heart syndrome were relatively stable from 2016 to 2020 – a sign that the current treatment scene is not enough.
However, Vitchtein said that the study relied on the diagnostic symbols granted to patients in the hospital, which can sometimes miss the full image of what contributed to the death of a person, especially if this person has a stroke or another neurological problem.
“I am completely sure that some of these people recovered from the broken heart syndrome and then died due to the complications of something else,” he said.
Cardiologists said that their best advice is to encourage patients to go to the hospital if they have chest pain or shortness of breath, and not to reject their symptoms as pressure.
“You cannot know the difference between this and the traditional heart attacks until you reach the hospital and you have a series of tests,” said Reynolds. “So it is not appropriate to stay at home when you have chest pain.”
This article was originally published on NBCNEWS.com
