Dr. Harmony Reynolds, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, hopes to build on her study of broken-heart syndrome to come up with prevention strategies.
PHOTO: JOHN ABBOTT
[From article]
Experts say broken-heart syndrome, which most often affects women in their 60s or older, can be brought on by strong emotions, such as grief, anger and anxiety, or by physical stress. A common trigger is a loved one’s illness or death, while for some patients there is no clear-cut cause for an attack. “It is a romantic notion, but you really can get this from heartache,” says Dr. Reynolds, whose study was published online in November in the American Journal of Cardiology.
Roberta Silver, who participated in Dr. Reynolds’s study, recalls driving in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2007 when she suddenly felt her heart pounding. She pulled over to a cafe, where she became intensely ill. An ambulance took her to a hospital, and she was told she had suffered a heart attack. But a series of tests, including an angiogram, all turned up negative, she says.
[. . .]
After several days in the hospital, doctors concluded she had suffered broken-heart syndrome.
[. . .]
Ms. Compagnino started feeling an intense pain in her chest “like an elephant was sitting on me,” she recalled. Yet at the hospital, doctors found nothing on her angiogram that was amiss --- no sign of clogged arteries. She became a patient of Dr. Reynolds, who believes anxiety played a role in bringing on the attack and has tried to guide her in the hope of preventing future episodes.
[. . .]
Broken-heart syndrome was first isolated by Japanese researchers 25 years ago, who named the condition takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-clues-why-women-get-broken-heart-syndrome-1451932640
New Clues Why Women Get Broken-Heart Syndrome
Study comes to surprising conclusion about mysterious malady’s causes, suggests possible remedies
By LUCETTE LAGNADO
[From article]
Experts say broken-heart syndrome, which most often affects women in their 60s or older, can be brought on by strong emotions, such as grief, anger and anxiety, or by physical stress. A common trigger is a loved one’s illness or death, while for some patients there is no clear-cut cause for an attack. “It is a romantic notion, but you really can get this from heartache,” says Dr. Reynolds, whose study was published online in November in the American Journal of Cardiology.
Roberta Silver, who participated in Dr. Reynolds’s study, recalls driving in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2007 when she suddenly felt her heart pounding. She pulled over to a cafe, where she became intensely ill. An ambulance took her to a hospital, and she was told she had suffered a heart attack. But a series of tests, including an angiogram, all turned up negative, she says.
[. . .]
After several days in the hospital, doctors concluded she had suffered broken-heart syndrome.
[. . .]
Ms. Compagnino started feeling an intense pain in her chest “like an elephant was sitting on me,” she recalled. Yet at the hospital, doctors found nothing on her angiogram that was amiss --- no sign of clogged arteries. She became a patient of Dr. Reynolds, who believes anxiety played a role in bringing on the attack and has tried to guide her in the hope of preventing future episodes.
[. . .]
Broken-heart syndrome was first isolated by Japanese researchers 25 years ago, who named the condition takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-clues-why-women-get-broken-heart-syndrome-1451932640
New Clues Why Women Get Broken-Heart Syndrome
Study comes to surprising conclusion about mysterious malady’s causes, suggests possible remedies
By LUCETTE LAGNADO
Updated Jan. 4, 2016 2:33 p.m. ET
