What You Must Know About Broken Heart Syndrome

July 24, 2021 | 2 minutes, 19 seconds read time

Dr. Vanita, the best cardiologist in Delhi, answers most commonly asked questions about this condition and sheds light on its treatment.

What Causes Broken Heart Syndrome?
An acute physical or emotional stress can lead to rapid and reversive weakness in the heart muscle. According to John Hopkins University, about 30% of patients may not have any identifiable trigger.

However, in 70% of cases, sudden acute stress is the cause of broken heart syndrome. The emotional stressors include grief, fear, extreme anger, or surprise. On the other hand, the physical stressors are high fever, stroke, seizure, difficulty breathing, significant bleeding, or low blood sugar.

Does Broken Heart Syndrome Have Any Symptoms?
According to Dr. Vanita, a well-known cardiologist in South Delhi, the broken heart syndrome’s symptoms are similar to that of cardiac arrest.

Listed below are some of these symptoms:

• • Shortness of breath
• • Chest pain
• • Sweating (Diaphoresis)
• • Dizziness

After a physically or emotionally stressful event, these symptoms may show up minutes or even hours later.

To explain this, we first need to understand our body’s mechanism. When you undergo a stressful event (physical or emotional), your body produces noradrenaline and adrenaline. These hormones are meant to help you manage stress.

However, during an acute traumatic event, the sudden buildup of adrenaline overwhelms the heart. It can narrow the arteries responsible for blood supply. As a result, this decreases the blood supply to the heart.

The sudden adrenaline rush may also cause the heart cells to bind, causing calcium to enter the heart cells. Therefore, this large amount of calcium does not allow the heart to beat properly. In most cases, broken heart syndrome is completely reversible.

The heart usually recovers within a few days or weeks.

Can It Become Dangerous?
In some cases – yes, says the best cardiologist in Delhi.

Severe heart muscle weakness caused by the broken heart syndrome can result in:

• • Heart rhythm abnormalities
• • Shock
• • Low blood pressure
• • Congestive heart failure

Under a cardiologist’s care, most critically ill patients tend to recover quickly. The treatment mostly includes cardiac rehabilitation and standard medications. The best cardiologist in South Delhi also recommends making yoga, meditation, and exercise an important part of your routine.

How Does It Differ from Cardiac Arrest?

Blood clots and blockages are what cause cardiac arrests. If the blood supply is interrupted long enough, it causes irreversible damage to the heart muscles.

Broken heart syndrome, on the other hand, is caused when the heart is stunned by stress hormones like adrenaline.

Meet Dr. Vanita
Dr. Vanita has earned an enormous reputation as the first female electrophysiologist in the country. In her career spanning two decades, she has won numerous awards including “Chikitsa Ratan”, “Woman Doctor Entrepreneur of the year 2018, and “Rising Star in Cardiology”.

She holds expertise in pacemaker implantation, cardiac resynchronization therapy, HIS bundle pacing, radiofrequency ablation, atrial fibrillation management, and more.

Schedule an appointment today by filling this form or calling +919873879994.