Maybe it is not a heart attack, but the « Broken-Heart syndrome »

While the symptoms of a heart attack in men are clearly obvious – a strong breast pain that often radiates in the left arm, as well as shortness of breath, sweating or feeling of tightness – women often suffer the so -called silent heart attack. The clinical picture is only determined afterwards at an EKG, since there are no symptoms.

As the Harvard Medical School In a report, the study situation has been showing differences in the heart health of the sexes for years. In addition to the heart attack, the medical faculty in Boston also counts the so-called « Broken Heart Syndrome » as an example: it also looks like a heart attack on the outside, but can be traced back to emotional and psychological stress.

The exact cause of the syndrome is not known, but experts assume that an increase in stress hormones essentially « stunned » the heart and triggers changes in the heart muscle cells or the coronary vessels – or both. According to the research group around Abhiram Prasad, the stressors can include a violent argument, financial loss or a surprise, for example domestic violence, the preservation of bad news (for example a cancer diagnosis with themselves, friends or relatives).

In more than 90 percent of cases, women between the ages of 58 and 75 are affected by the « Broken-Heart Syndrome ». In five percent of women, there is initially wrongly suspicion of a heart attack.

Since the typical infarction symptoms and the symptoms of takotsubo cardiomyopathy are very similar, the heart attack must be excluded through imaging examinations and other measures. An angiogram then shows whether there are signs of clogged coronary arteries. An additional echocardiogram (ultrasound image) shows whether there is abnormal movements in the walls of the left heart chamber.

The most common abnormality of the « Broken Heart Syndrome » According to the Harvard Medical School, there is an inflation of the lower part of the left heart chamber (Apex). During the contraction of the heart, this outlawing resembles the ventricle of a tako-tubo-a vessel that Japanese fishermen use to catch ink fishing.

Death by broken heart?

The heart disease in Japan was first observed in 1990. It is a weakening of the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart. Fortunately, the « Broken Heart Syndrome », officially called Takotsubo-Kardiomyopathy, is a temporary condition. So it is not life -threatening, but the anomalies sound within one to four weeks. Most of those affected recover completely within two months and have a low risk of being affected again. Fortunately, you can’t die from a broken heart.

According to Harvard Medical School, there is no specific treatment for the syndrome – this depends on the symptoms individually. And from the question of whether the person affected suffers from low blood pressure or has a fluid congestion in the lungs. Doctors often recommend standard medication for heart failure-including beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and diuretics (water tablets). Aspirin can also help patients who are affected by deposits in the artery walls (atherosclerosis).

Beta blockers can also be taken indefinitely to prevent relapse. However, this method is poorly proven as long -term therapy. Therefore, the focus should generally be on reducing its stress.