Broken Heart Syndrome: How your mental health can impact your heart health.
Broken heart syndrome is not just a myth, or a fairy tale concocted by a creative writer for some niche film, but a reality lesser known to us all.
The first instance of broken heart syndrome was characterized by a Japanese cardiologist Dr. Hikaru NATO in the 1990s and by another Japanese Doctor known as Dr. Kenji Sato. Their initial studies concluded that broken heart syndrome can resemble a heart attack except for how it is seen pathologically as well as the treatment thereof.
Their valuable insights also show the bond between extreme emotional stress and how it could lead to a temporary and profound disruption in normal heart function.
You may be wondering how I can avoid this from happening to me or someone close to me. Knowledge is power, enabling yourself to learn more is the first step in understanding, avoiding, diagnosing, and treating it.
As with most illnesses, a support network is the best way forward in avoiding much heartache, no pun intended. Let’s look at the facts.
What causes it?
It can mainly be triggered by various factors from emotional to physical stress. Severe illness and extreme emotional stress such as the loss of a loved one can contribute to it.
These are just a few of the trigger mechanisms that can contribute to the onset of broken heart syndrome. As mentioned previously this illness can resemble a heart attack, but understanding the symptoms could save you time and money. Typical symptoms could be changes in electrical activity, cardiac biomarkers, chest pain, shortness of breath and even fainting.
A more in-depth diagnosis can be made with combined patient history and ECG (Electrocardiogram) tests, blood tests, and echocardiograms.
Your heart’s left ventricle mainly pumping blood to the rest of the body could be temporarily affected by this syndrome, which may lead to a reduced ability of the heart to pump blood throughout the body more effectively.
With broken heart disease, the prognosis most likely will be far better than what it could be with a heart attack. The reason is that this condition typically resolves itself within a short period with the correct treatment and emotional support.
To effectively recover from this diagnosis, one needs emotional and psychological support, and in some cases, medications that support the heart’s function as prescribed by a doctor.
Taking care of your mental health is a daily requirement for a healthy body, mind, and soul.
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