Having a broken heart is one of the most common sources of pain in the history. There are billions of songs, movies and books about it and every person had to deal with it at least once. However, it appears that heartbreak is more real than we would have expected. Researchers have discovered that this is a real syndrome, and the official name for it is takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Woman suffering from a broken heart after her dog’s death
Another case proved that romantic love is not the only one that can cause heartbreak. Joanie Simpson, a 61-years-old woman has severe chest pain after her dog died. She went immediately to the emergency room, only to find out that she suffered from the broken heart syndrome, that is also known as stress cardiomyopathy.
Simpson revealed that her 9-year-old dog, Meha, had recently passed away. “I was close to inconsolable. I really took it really, really hard,” the woman declared. It appeared that the loss of her Yorkshire terrier was bad enough to cause a surge of stress hormones that led to a broken heart.
What is the broken heart syndrome?
This syndrome has symptoms that are similar to those of a heart attack, like intense chest pain. However, in this case there are no blocked arteries, which means that is less severe. Nevertheless, a broken heart can lead to cardiac consequences like short-term heart muscle failure. Luckily, this is treatable, and it is not very likely that it will happen twice.
Researchers have discovered that negative events are not the only one that can cause this syndrome. In fact, even a good shock can have the same effects. Therefore, even if you win the lottery you should be careful.
