Broken heart syndrome: Here's why you could be at risk of having it too

Health and self-care habits need to be built into our life, and embraced as part of our lifestyle rather than as milestones to be achieved. While it might be difficult to prepare for all eventualities in life, we should do our best to maintain mental and physical health, and this includes properly managing stress.

In an article published by Huff Post, Melissa Lombard, who was diagnosed with 'broken heart syndrome,' shares her experience of surviving it, highlighting how chronic stress can take a toll on our lives.

Bodies reacts to stress in several ways. It could seriously impact your health, and have consequences for our work, and even our sex lives.

Broken heart syndrome

Lombardi scheduled an elective plastic surgery, and ended up with serious complications. She had to be rushed to cardiac intensive care unit, where she spent a lot of time recovering, while undergoing a slew of tests for doctors to determine what was the cause of her medical issues.

The cardiologist finally asked her,

Are you under any significant stress?

He followed it up by explaining that the only diagnosis that fit her condition was stress cardiomyopathy, also known as 'broken heart syndrome.'

She describes it as follows,

It’s a complex condition in which the heart muscle is quickly, but temporarily, weakened, often as a result of intense emotional or physical stress.

It is a temporary condition, but sometimes, it could leave lasting impact on people.

Indeed, the author explains that she has had a lifetime of stress-full life events, including disease, lay-offs, death and grief: all of which had contributed to her cumulative stress levels.

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What causes broken heart syndrome?

According to Lombard's cardiologist, Dr. Anna C. O’Kelly, from Massachusetts General Hospital, the reasons for stress cardiomyopathy cases isn't clear cut, and is multi-functional.

But one thing the author highlights, is that we do live in a society full of individuals dealing with very high levels of stress. People having to contend with chronic stress further exacerbates the situation.

Speaking of the link between our psychological and cardiovascular health, this is what Dr. O’Kelly has to say,

There is definitely a link –– which we are increasingly appreciating –– between our psychological and cardiovascular health. The exact mechanism is not entirely clear, though it is likely bidirectional.

For example, depression is a risk [factor] for heart disease, but you can imagine ways in which heart disease is also a risk factor for depression if you aren’t able to be as active, or have shortness of breath, or frequent hospital admissions.

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Sources used:

Huffington Post: 'I Nearly Died From 'Broken Heart Syndrome' — And Here's Why You Could Be At Risk, Too'