Health · Medical Research · 4 hrs ago
Broken heart syndrome can mimic a heart attack and needs urgent assessment
Broken heart syndrome, also called Takotsubo syndrome, can suddenly weaken the heart’s main pumping chamber.
It most often affects women after menopause and may follow intense emotional or physical stress.
Its symptoms can include chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, palpitations and low blood pressure.
These signs can also occur during a heart attack, which is usually caused by a blocked coronary artery.
A person cannot reliably tell the two conditions apart at home, so emergency medical care is needed.
Hospital tests, including an ECG, blood tests, an ultrasound of the heart and imaging of the coronary arteries, help identify the cause.
Many people recover heart function within days or weeks, but serious complications can occur, so hospital monitoring is important.
Broken heart syndrome can cause symptoms that are almost identical to those of a heart attack.
The symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, palpitations and low blood pressure.
Urgent hospital assessment is needed because tests are required to distinguish the condition from a blocked coronary artery.
The condition, also called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, involves a sudden and temporary change in the left ventricle’s contraction.
It often follows intense physical or emotional stress and affects women after menopause more often.
- Who
- People with broken heart syndrome; it affects women after menopause especially often.
- What
- The condition can mimic a heart attack and requires urgent medical assessment.
- When
- It often occurs after intense physical or emotional stress. Not stated when this story’s reported event occurred.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Intense physical or emotional stress can precede the condition; urgent assessment is needed to rule out a heart attack or coronary artery obstruction.
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- Also known as
- Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress-induced cardiomyopathy
- Symptoms
- Chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, palpitations and low blood pressure
- Heart chamber affected
- Left ventricle
- Assessment
- Electrocardiogram, troponin tests, echocardiogram and coronary angiography
Sources
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