In 2002, Hikaru Sato and his colleagues at Hiroshima City Hospital documented the phenomenon of dying of a shattered heart in research. Sato coined the term “takotsubo cardiomyopathy” to describe the ailment. ‘Broken heart syndrome,’ as it was swiftly nicknamed, was the fast name given to it.
Scientists have just found that you may also die from an excess of happiness, which is a more recent discovery. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is the underlying cause of both cases. The term “happy heart syndrome” has been used to describe it.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy
First and foremost, takotsubo cardiomyopathy is an uncommon condition that seldom results in death. Most persons with this cardiomyopathy recover within a few months without any long-term harm to their hearts.
Those who suffer from the illness have an abnormally shaped left ventricle, which is the heart’s primary pumping chamber. Takotsubo (ceramic traps used to catch octopuses) were the inspiration for the design, which was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. As the heart muscle weakens, it becomes less efficient in pumping blood.
There has been a steady rise in the number of Americans who have been diagnosed with this ailment during an 11-year period, according to a US survey of around 135,000 persons (2006-2017). Women account for 88% of cases, while persons over the age of 50 account for the majority of those affected.
It seems likely that doctors are discovering more instances today since the ailment is more known, individuals are living longer, and diagnostic technologies are better.
For a long time, studies linked the “broken heart” condition to high levels of mental or physical stress. The specific method by which stress causes the heart’s structure to alter and the following symptoms (chest discomfort and shortness of breath) to occur is still a mystery..
Those with pheochromocytoma, a rare cancer of the adrenal glands, and problems of the central nervous system have comparable effects on the heart, according to doctors. Catecholamines, which include adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine, are overproduced when these circumstances exist.
