Broken heart syndrome and stress
By Liz Lockhart
Have you ever heard of anyone dying of a broken heart? As a child I remember a photograph on the shelf of the wedding of friends of my 
father. I was told that the husband died young and that his wife died of a broken heart within a week, but can this really happen?
Dr. Binh An P. Phan of Loyola University Health System says that a broken heart is an actual medical condition which occurs during highly stressful or emotional times. Phan describes emotionally stressful times as a painful breakup, the death of a spouse, the loss of a job or extreme anger.
Broken heart syndrome is also known as stress cardiomyopathy. The symptoms include chest pain and difficulty breathing as associated with a heart attack. Fortunately these symptoms pass with time and, unlike heart attacks, the symptoms cause no lasting damage to the heart, according to Phan. ‘Most people will get better in a few weeks without medical treatment,’ Phan said.
During any particularly stressful situation, the heart can be deluged with stress hormones including adrenalin. This can result in a narrowing of the arteries which feels similar to a heart attack. The difference is that when having a heart attack the narrowing of the arteries occurs due to a blood clot in a coronary artery which restricts blood supply to the heart muscle. Phan said that when the arteries narrow in broken heart syndrome it is reversible.
Phan cautioned that it is difficult to tell the difference between broken heart syndrome and a heart attack, and if you experience chest pains or other symptoms associated with heart attack, you must seek immediate medical attention – 999.
Dr. Phan is a director of Loyola’s new Preventive Cardiology and Lipid Programme. This programme assists with the prevention of heart attacks and other cardiac-related disorders and provides treatment for advanced cholesterol disorders.
