Takotsubo – Broken heart syndrome

Have you heard of Takotsubo? This disease is one of the few that carries its Japanese name, but it is also known as broken heart syndrome, which consists of a stress-induced cardiomyopathy that affects our body after a significant emotional stress.

This syndrome mainly occurs due to tragedies such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or any other thing that causes significant anxiety and emotional weakening. That is why this disease is also called broken heart syndrome.

As a consequence, people who have lost a close relative and end up experiencing this sadness in the form of a syndrome may end up dying earlier. Things involving danger, loss, threats, mourning, and even happy situations that cause a lot of anxiety can trigger takotsubo (marriage, victory).

It is not just about emotional sadness or despair; it is a real disease that physically affects the shape of the heart. Its muscle becomes quite weak, potentially leading to heart failure.

HISTORY OF Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

The stress-induced cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome got its name from Takotsubo [蛸壷] because of a trap that the Japanese use to catch octopus. This trap looks like a pot, where the name tako [蛸] means octopus and [壷] means jar and pot.

Literally, the disease got the name Octopus in the pot! The schematic representation of takotsubo cardiomyopathy really resembles the octopus being captured by a pot. Our heart expands in such a way with this stress that it is difficult to escape from this pot.

Since 1967, influential people of the time claimed that the loss of a relative or extreme stress situation could negatively affect a person’s health. Cebelin and Hirsch were among the first to write about human stress cardiomyopathy in 1980.

The first confirmed case of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy was in Japan in 1991, shortly after several other cases appeared in the country, but it was only around 2001 that Westerners recognized this syndrome, which ended up keeping the Japanese name.

The main characteristic of takotsubo is the sudden and transient dysfunction of the left ventricle (it becomes dilated).

INFORMATION ABOUT Broken Heart Syndrome

Many people end up thinking that diseases caused by emotion do not affect our body, but Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy can result in heart failure, arrhythmias, and ventricular rupture.

Consequently, this stress can even lead to death. Things like asthma, surgeries, chemotherapy, and stroke are also major contributors to takotsubo.

Takotsubo is just one of the existing forms of cardiomyopathies. There are some of inflammatory, alcoholic, hypertensive, ischemic, nutritional origin, and many others.

Broken heart syndrome is considered a transient disorder, but that does not mean that everyone who experiences significant stress goes through takotsubo. Few people who go through this situation are at risk of death (5%).

This disease affects only 2% of Japanese people and 3% of the population in other countries. Not to mention that 90% of people suffering from this syndrome are women. This disease occurs most often among people aged 58 to 75 years.

How to Identify Takotsubo Syndrome

Even today, it is difficult to identify this disease, as its duration can be short if the stress is eliminated. Many end up being diagnosed when they visit a cardiologist due to heart failure.

Doctors end up diagnosing this syndrome when there is hypokinesia, akinesia, or transient dyskinesia of the left ventricle. Also with the absence of arterial pathology, pheochromocytoma, and myocarditis.

The patient also presents a sudden onset of congestive heart failure along with changes in the electrocardiogram that suggest myocardial infarction, in addition to signs of acute plaque rupture.

Although stress is responsible for 85% of cases of stress cardiomyopathy, there are other causes such as transient vasospasm, microvascular dysfunction, mid-ventricular obstruction, and catecholamines.

How to Treat Stress Cardiomyopathy

There is no specific treatment for takotsubo; the heart muscle usually recovers in a few weeks. The medications used typically combat the symptoms resulting from the syndrome, which is usually heart failure.

What we can do is avoid stress and excessive workload on the heart as much as possible. Some turn to psychologists to vent, while others simply turn to nature; a great help is the practice of shinrin-yoku forest bathing.

There are numerous things we can also do to reduce emotional stress and help overcome the loss of a loved one or the end of a significant relationship. Below we will list these things:

• Maintaining a good diet will help you cope with stress or mourning;
• Walking and exercising relieve negative emotions;
• Do not rush when making decisions;
• Getting enough sleep is good for reducing sadness and killing fatigue;
• Avoid harmful habits like alcohol or drugs;
• Distract yourself with friends and new things;
• Have a routine and keep yourself busy;
• Do not try to force your brain to forget the reason for stress or sadness;
• Helping others can bring you joy and satisfaction;
• Fight against the urge to isolate yourself;

Warning: Although many patients present low blood pressure, the use of inotropic agents can intensify and worsen the disease of stress-induced cardiomyopathy.

We also recommend reading our article on Japanese techniques to relieve stress and relax by clicking here.

Did you know about the broken heart syndrome called Takotsubo? I hope you enjoyed the article; if you did, don’t forget to share it with friends on social media.