Broken Heart Syndrome: Heart Attack-Like Symptoms Can Be Induced by Stress on the Brain

An increase in activity in the amygdala's nerve cells may cause symptoms like a heart attack. It's probably just broken heart syndrome, so don't panic.
An increase in activity in the amygdala's nerve cells may cause symptoms like a heart attack. It's probably just broken heart syndrome, so don't panic.
Broken Heart Syndrome: Heart Attack-Like Symptoms Can Be Induced by Stress on the Brain

An increase in activity in the amygdala’s nerve cells may cause symptoms like a heart attack. It’s probably just broken heart syndrome, so don’t panic.

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Occasionally, you might feel like you’re experiencing a heart attack. However, it’s possible that these symptoms are unrelated to a heart attack. Your heart health may not be related to the frightening chest pain or the accompanying dyspnea. Alternatively, you can be experiencing the symptoms of broken heart syndrome, which is brought on by emotional trauma or stressful circumstances. These symptoms, which can occasionally even be fatal, can be brought on by anything, including the death of a loved one, losing your job, getting extremely excellent news, or peaking in public.

Just 10% of instances are in men; women are affected more frequently than men. Researchers from the US’s Massachusetts General Hospital have now discovered a connection between the likelihood of acquiring this illness and increased brain activity brought on by stressful situations. The study, which was published in the European Heart Journal, discovered that Takotsubo syndrome (TTS), another name for broken heart disease, can manifest earlier in life the more activity there is in the nerve cells in the brain’s amygdala region.

This Syndrome Is Brought On By Amygdala Nerve Cell Activity

Researchers believe that this study indicates that the amygdala’s elevated stress-associated neurobiological activity, which is present years before TTS manifests, may be a significant factor in the development of the syndrome and may even be able to anticipate when it will manifest. The area of the brain responsible for emotions, motivation, memory, and learning is called the amygdala. It also has a role in controlling cardiac function and autonomic nervous system control.

The hallmark of broken heart syndrome is an abrupt, transient weakening of the heart’s muscles, which results in the left ventricle of the heart enlarging at the bottom while the neck stays narrow, giving rise to the condition’s eponymous Japanese octopus trap shape. Evidence has revealed that, since this very uncommon ailment was first reported in 1990, it is usually brought on by moments of extreme emotional pain, such as sadness, wrath, or fear, or by reactions to glad or joyous occasions.

Several Typical Signs Of Broken Heart Syndrome

Breathlessness and chest pain are the most typical signs of this illness. If you encounter these symptoms, take caution and get medical help right away because they may even result in heart attacks or even death. In order to conduct the study, 104 patients had PET-CT scans performed between 2005 and 2019. Between six months and five years following the scan, 41 individuals who later had TTS were matched with 63 individuals who did not.

For the 104 patients, the mean (median) time between the scan, the start of TTs, the last follow-up, and death was 2.5 years. When the data were analysed, they discovered that those who went on to develop TTS had more stress-related amygdala activity during initial scanning (which was quantified as a ratio of amygdala activity to activity of brain regions that counter stress) than those who did not go on to develop TTS.

What Distinguishes TTS From A Heart Attack

Although the symptoms of the two disorders may appear to be similar, they are fundamentally quite different. Clogged arteries are a common cause of heart attacks. It occurs as a result of obstructions in the arteries leading to the heart brought on by a waxy accumulation. There are no clogged arteries in shattered heart syndrome. Nevertheless, this results in the heart’s inability to pump blood as effectively as it should, which gives rise to the symptoms of a heart attack.

Complications

Even though shattered heart syndrome is not a very serious disorder, it can occasionally cause death. This is due to the possibility of cardiac failure or damage to your heart valves. It can also cause low blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. This illness can occasionally cause fluid to back up into your lungs. For most patients with this illness, however, healing is complete and problems are avoided.

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