By Emily Stearn, Health Reporter For Mailonline
08:00 12 Jan 2024, updated 08:42 12 Jan 2024
- Known medically as takotsubo, it is triggered by extreme emotional distress
- Experts said the ‘stark’ results show the condition is not being treated correctly
Broken heart syndrome can be just as deadly as a heart attack, researchers have warned.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy – its medical name – is triggered by extreme emotional distress that weakens one of the heart’s chambers.
Around a quarter of patients with the condition died over the course of a five-year study, based on almost 4,000 people in Scotland.
Experts said this was ‘comparable’ with heart attack deaths.
Analysis also showed that drugs used to prevent heart attacks did not improve the survival rate of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, despite being the go-to treatment.
Scientists based at the University of Aberdeen claimed the ‘stark’ data showed the syndrome was not being treated correctly.
The findings come after an ex-partner of singer Sinead O’Connor yesterday insisted that the star, 56, died of a ‘broken heart’.
Her son Shane took his own life 18 months before the singer passed. Officially, her death certificate states she died of natural causes.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which affects around 2,500 Brits every year, is a reaction by the heart to a sudden release of stress hormones.
This causes part of the heart to become temporarily enlarged and struggle to pump blood properly.
Researchers assessed the medical records of 3,720 people, including 620 who had takotsubo syndrome, between 2010 and 2017.
Over a follow-up of five-and-a-half-years, 153 patients with the condition died (25 per cent), according to results published in the journal JACC: Advances.
This death rate is higher than the study’s control group (15 per cent) and nearly as high as fatalities among those who suffered heart attacks (31 per cent).
The researchers said they were ‘surprised’ that takotsubo patients were medicated in the same way as patients with ‘classical heart attacks’.
Professor Dana Dawson, a consultant cardiologist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, said the data shows ‘quite starkly’ that takotsubo syndrome is not being treated correctly.
She added: ‘These patients have increased mortality compared to the general population, an increased vulnerability to developing heart conditions, and as much chance of dying from this as people who have suffered heart attacks.
‘It is vital that we identify precise ways to treat this unique group of people, and that is what we plan to do as we continue our research.’
Experts have long believed takotsubo cardiomyopathy may be misdiagnosed as a heart attack because symptoms and test results are similar.
However, unlike those who suffer heart attacks, broken heart syndrome is not linked with blocked arteries.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is more common among women than men and is more likely to affect older people, who are more likely to have lost their lifelong spouses.
It comes after an ex-partner of Irish singer Sinead yesterday insisted that the ruling that she died of natural causes actually means she died from a ‘broken heart’.
The star, 56, was found ‘unresponsive’ after police were called to her flat in Herne Hill, south-east London, last July, just months after her 17-year old son Shane died by suicide.
Detectives did not treat the star’s sudden death as suspicious and on Tuesday officials said she had died of natural causes.
Dermot Hayes, who dated singer Sinead for two years after writing an early autobiography of her, told The Irish Sun: ‘From this you can surmise that a broken heart is a real illness symptom, and a cause of death.
‘It doesn’t make Sinead’s passing any less painful. It was more to do with a broken heart than anything else.’
Symptoms of the condition can appear like a heart attack including shortness of breath and chest pain.
Takotsubo syndrome is usually temporary and many people make a full recovery.
But a 2017 study, suggested the syndrome could in some cases permanently affect the heart’s pumping motion, delaying the twisting or ‘wringing’ movement made by the muscle during a heartbeat.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF), which funded the University of Aberdeen study, urged the Government to invest in more research.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the charity, said: ‘These data from Scotland show that the diagnosis of takotsubo, a condition more common for women, is linked to a higher chance of death in the long term.
‘Patients surviving takotsubo syndrome were treated much the same way as those surviving a heart attack – but unlike for heart attack survivors, being prescribed usual heart medications was of uncertain benefit.’
She added: ‘More research into takotsubo could better reveal its causes and which treatments could save and improve lives.’
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
