It’s close to Valentine’s Day so it is a good time to remind everyone that not only is heart disease the number one killer of women but that the symptoms can be very different from men.

Post-menopausal women should be especially aware of a condition know as “Broken Heart Syndrome”.  It’s a rare condition and even more rare to die from it.  However it should be a concern since there is still very little known about the condition.  What is known is that 90% of the cases doctors have identified with this condition, have been post-menopausal women.

The condition is caused by stress, usually emotional, but occasionally it has been triggered by physical stress. Experts say the combination of lower levels of estrogen with an unusual response to adrenaline can trigger the syndrome.

Symptoms can mimic a heart attack and can be very severe. However when tests done to confirm a heart attach such as checking for blocked arteries, the result are usually found to be in the normal range.  The difference is that X-rays will show that the left ventricle has taken the shape of a vase-like pot  used in Japan and the reason the Japanese call it Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy.  It is also know as Transient Left Ventricular Ballooning, Cardiac Syndrome X and Ampulla Cardiomyopathy.

Even though there is usually no long term effects of this type of heart episode, it’s important to take care of yourself when experiencing emotional trauma in your life.  Feeling overwhelmed, death and loss are emotional triggers can affect a healthy person in many unhealthy ways.  If you can’t mend that broken heart, at least do what you can to keep it healthy.

Related articles on “Broken Heart Syndrome”

• February is Dedicated to Heart Disease Awareness (eon.businesswire.com)
• Hearts Actually Can Break (science.slashdot.org)
• Video: Broken Heart Syndrome (medicine.com.my)

Tags: Broken Heart Syndrome, post-menopausal women, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy