Emotional sorrow is really ‘heartbreaking’

LONDON: Severe emotional stress can cause as much damage to the heart as a heart attack, British researchers claim.

At least 3 000 adults suffer from “broken heart syndrome” in the UK every year, although the true number may be higher.

It is commonly triggered by a bereavement and occurs when the stress of the event causes the heart muscle to become stunned and weakened.

Until now, doctors had presumed the damage was temporary. But researchers at the University of Aberdeen have discovered that the condition permanently weakens the heart, similar to a heart attack.

In the longest-running study so far, they followed 37 patients with “broken heart syndrome” – or takotsubo – for two years. Regular ultrasound and MRI scans of their hearts revealed the damage was present long after the event that triggered the condition. Many patients became tired very easily and were unable to do exercise.

The researchers said patients should be offered the same drugs as those whose hearts had been damaged by a heart attack.

They presented their study at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Anaheim, California. Women are more commonly affected by the condition than men. Takotsubo, first identified in Japan in the 1990s, means octopus pot, which describes the deformed shape of the heart.

Last year, Swiss researchers found the condition was commonly triggered by happy events as well as sorrow.