When love leaves, a broken heart is often left behind. This condition can be life threatening, and a new study has found it affects more and more people. However, love is not the only cause of this suffering – stress, suffering, grief and arguments are the most common triggers.
Broken heart syndrome, also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, causes the heart muscle to suddenly weaken and usually occurs after a period of severe emotional or physical stress. The symptoms are the same as in an acute heart attack: tightness in the chest, severe shortness of breath, chest pain radiating to the left arm or back as well as shoulders or lower jaw.
And that is just as dangerous as a normal heart attack, says cardiologist Prof. Dietrich Andresen. “The heart muscle is supplied with oxygen day and night. This happens via the coronary vessels that are arranged around the heart. If they clog, it leads to a heart attack.
►The result: the heart can no longer pump without oxygen. In a normal heart attack, blood clots block the coronary arteries. In broken heart syndrome, on the other hand, the vessels contract so tightly that no blood can reach the heart either. One could therefore also speak of a spastic heart attack. “
This condition has increased steadily in both men and women in recent years, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. However, women between the ages of 50 and 74 are particularly affected, with the greatest increase. The analysis of 135,463 cases reported in US hospitals from 2006 to 2017 showed that women generally make up 88.3 percent of all cases. Older women are affected six to twelve times more often than younger women and men.
“These skyrocketing rates are worrying,” said lead study author Dr. Susan Cheng. Scientists suspect that older women in particular suffer from the syndrome as a result of greater stress in old age, increasing technological effects and the end of menopause.
“The older we get and the more responsibility we take on in life and at work, the higher our stress level,” says Cheng. “And with increasing digitalization in all areas of our life, environmental stressors have also increased.”
The study authors worked exclusively with data from the time before the coronan pandemic. However, they believe that COVID-19 has likely led to a further increase in the incidence rate, which may not be measurable, as many broken hearts are undiagnosed or reported.
“We know the pandemic has profound effects on the connection between the heart and the brain. We’re only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to measuring this impact, ”warns Dr. Susan Cheng.