Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTS), also called acute stress cardiomyopathy, broken heart syndrome and apical ballooning syndrome, is a condition that was discovered by Japanese scientists in 1991.
The word Takotsubo means "octopus pot" (a pot used to catch octopus) in Japanese, referring to the shape that the left ventricle displays, during this condition, in which it develops a narrow neck and a round bottom.
It was in 2005 that researchers at Johns Hopkins "discovered that sudden emotional stress can also result in severe but reversible heart muscle weakness that mimics a classic heart attack. Patients with this condition, called stress cardiomyopathy but known colloquially as 'broken heart' syndrome, are often misdiagnosed with a massive heart attack."
"Our study should help physicians distinguish between stress cardiomyopathy and heart attacks. And it should also reassure patients that they have not had permanent heart damage," said study lead author and cardiologist Dr. Ilan Wittstein, an assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy has since been the subject of intense research, including the setting up of an online database to record patients suffering from TTS.
On the basis of the data collected, researchers led by cardiologist Dr. Jelena Ghadri came across a startling discovery: TTS could be caused by happy events, too.
"We have shown that the triggers for TTS can be more varied than previously thought. A TTS patient is no longer the classic 'broken hearted' patient, and the disease can be preceded by positive emotions too. Clinicians should be aware of this and also consider that patients who arrive in the emergency department with signs of heart attacks, such as chest pain and breathlessness, but after a happy event or emotion, could be suffering from TTS just as much as a similar patient presenting after a negative emotional event. Our findings broaden the clinical spectrum of TTS. They also suggest that happy and sad life events may share similar emotional pathways that can ultimately cause TTS," Ghadri said.
The research, published in the European Heart Journal, has also introduced another interesting fact. Of all the patients who reported TTS, 95 percent of which were women, mostly in their mid-to-late 60s.
"We still do not know why women are predominately affected by the Takotsubo syndrome. We can only speculate that the hormonal state - namely, oestrogen - might play a role in the disease mechanism," Ghadri said.
So, be careful before you jump with joy, especially the ladies out there.
