A new study has claimed that happy events like a wedding or a birthday party can cause “broken heart syndrome” that can “lead to cardiac arrest and death”. It was a well known fact that episodes of sadness, anger, grief and fear have been known to be the cause of breathlessness, chest pain and heart attack, but the researchers have confirmed that emotional situations that are blissful may also bring out the same symptoms.![heart-attack-300x200]()
The study talks about “broken heart syndrome”, TTS or Takotsubo syndrome in people. This condition is very rare and was first spoken about in 1990. The heart’s left ventricle balloons out at the base but the neck remains contracted. The typical symptoms of this syndrome involve a temporary weakening in the muscles of the heart. In worst conditions situations where the person experiences severe emotional distressing moments of anger, grief, fear, he or she starts to experience feelings of breathlessness and chest pain. Sometimes the situation gets worse and goes out of hand, leading to death or a severe heart attack.
Data was collected globally from a large number of people, almost 1750, suffering from TTS by researchers from University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland, and they discovered that nearly 485 people responded to an emotional upheaval for sure.
About 4% of the sample, that is 20 people developed TTS after am extremely joyful or happy moment like a wedding, birthday party, birth of a grandchild, a game match, farewell surprise party, . The research scientists called it the “happy heart syndrome”. In comparison about 96% or 465 people crumbled because of sad moments that caused them stress. These moments were like an accident, death in close family members, funeral, relationship issues, and illnesses.
Researchers also deduced that “As many as 95 per cent of the patients were women in both the “broken hearts” and “happy hearts” groups, and the average age of patients was 65 among the “broken hearts” and 71 among the “happy hearts”, confirming that the majority of TTS cases occur in post-menopausal women.”
Jelena Ghadri from University Hospital Zurich also confirmed “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.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,” she stated.
The details of the study can be read in the European Heart Journal.
