Soon the pain lost its stronghold over me. By going through the intense pain, I eventually surfaced as a stronger person ready to tackle problems head on. Not around it.” Because if I went around some of the issues that were tearing me apart inside, then I would bump into them somewhere down the line, just like being caught in the center of a traffic circle. During the 18 months of my severe depression, my therapist repeated almost every visit: “Go through it. Here’s a simple fact: You have to grieve in order to move on. Because no shortcut is without its share of obstructions. Talk with your doctor about how often you should schedule follow-up visits.I realize the most difficult task for a person with a broken heart is to stand still and feel the crack. To keep tabs on your heart health, your doctor may recommend an echo about a month after you’re diagnosed with the syndrome. Other diagnostic tests are blood tests, EKG, echocardiography (a painless test that uses sound waves to create moving pictures of your heart) and cardiac MRI. If your doctor thinks you have broken heart syndrome, you may need coronary angiography, a test that uses dye and special X-rays to show the insides of your coronary arteries. Recovery time is quick, usually within days or weeks (compared with the recovery time of a month or more for a heart attack).Tests show ballooning and unusual movement of the lower left heart chamber (left ventricle).Tests show no signs of blockages in the coronary arteries.Blood tests show no signs of heart damage.EKG (a test that records the heart’s electric activity) results don’t look the same as the EKG results for a person having a heart attack.In broken heart syndrome, symptoms occur suddenly after extreme emotional or physical stress. Some signs and symptoms of broken heart syndrome differ from those of heart attack. (When people die from heart attacks, cardiogenic shock is the most common cause of death.) Heart attack and broken heart syndrome: What’s the difference? Cardiogenic shock is a condition in which a suddenly weakened heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs, and it can be fatal if it isn’t treated right away. You can experience these things even if you have no history of heart disease.Īrrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) or cardiogenic shock also may occur with broken heart syndrome. The most common signs and symptoms of broken heart syndrome are angina (chest pain) and shortness of breath.
Most people who experience it make a full recovery within weeks, and they’re at low risk for it happening again (although in rare cases it can be fatal). The good news: Broken heart syndrome is usually treatable. The bad news: Broken heart syndrome can lead to severe, short-term heart muscle failure.
Researchers are just starting to learn the causes, and how to diagnose and treat it. In broken heart syndrome, a part of your heart temporarily enlarges and doesn’t pump well, while the rest of your heart functions normally or with even more forceful contractions. But unlike a heart attack, there’s no evidence of blocked heart arteries in broken heart syndrome. In fact, tests show dramatic changes in rhythm and blood substances that are typical of a heart attack. It could even happen after a good shock (like winning the lottery.)īroken heart syndrome may be misdiagnosed as a heart attack because the symptoms and test results are similar. It could be the death of a loved one or even a divorce, breakup or physical separation, betrayal or romantic rejection. Women are more likely than men to experience the sudden, intense chest pain - the reaction to a surge of stress hormones - that can be caused by an emotionally stressful event. (Tako tsubo, by the way, are octopus traps that resemble the pot-like shape of the stricken heart.) Breakdown of a Broken Heartīroken heart syndrome, also called stress-induced cardiomyopathy or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, can strike even if you’re healthy. Read on for more information about how an extremely stressful event can have an impact on your heart. There are established ties between depression, mental health and heart disease. But a real-life broken heart can actually lead to cardiac consequences. When you think of a broken heart, you may picture a cartoon drawing with a jagged line through it. Love me.” - Abby McDonald, Getting Over Garrett Delaney I can feel it now, aching deep behind my rib cage the way it does every time we're together, beating a desperate rhythm: Love me. “ You can die of a broken heart - it's scientific fact - and my heart has been breaking since that very first day we met.