It seems that a broken heart actually can cause a heart attack.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome, is a rare, stress-related cardiac event in a person who is generally not at risk for heart disease, according to the Texas Heart Institute Journal.
The main cause of the attack is an extreme emotional or stressful event, and it tends to be seen most in post-menopausal women. The heart muscle weakens, causing a “ballooning effect” in the left ventricle, which fills with more blood than usual.
It isn’t entirely clear why this occurs, and mortality rates of those who experience Takotsubo cardiomyopathy are generally lower than myocardial infarction.
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