Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography and BBC Health report
The term Broken heart syndrome is used to describe the condition that occur to people immediately after a shocking experience such as the death of a loved one. The sudden overwhelming emotional meltdown causes severe stress on heart and may lead to temporary heart failure. Women are more affected by the condition than the males. Previously it is believed that the condition is short lived and the affected person should recover fully.
Aberdeen University researchers looked at 52 persons with the syndrome and concluded that the condition may have a lasting effect on their heart. About 3000 people were affected each year in the UK. The symptoms may mimic that of heart attack and usually diagnosed at hospitals.
The researchers used echocardiography and cardiac MRI technique to find that the pumping power of the heart is affected as well as the power of filling the heart during a heartbeat is also compromised. Several cardiac muscles are found to be replaced by scar tissue resulting in reduced compliance of cardiac activity.
Researchers found that between 3-17% of the affected people die within 5 years of the event. Prof Metin Avkiran at British Heart Foundation said,
”Worryingly, these patients' hearts appear to show a form of scarring, indicating that full recovery may take much longer, or indeed may not occur, with current care. This highlights the need to urgently find new and more effective treatments for this devastating condition."
So if you have such an ill-fated event in your life, please consult your physician. Do not wait for spontaneous recovery. May be it will be too late.
Image Source: BBC Health