Broken hearts don't self-heal

Broken hearts don't self-heal

A condition once thought to temporarily cause heart failure in people who experience severe stress might actually cause longer-lasting damage to the heart muscle.

Takotsubo syndrome, also called “broken heart syndrome” - because it can be triggered when a person suffers severe emotional stress, such as after bereavement - affects around 3,000 people in the UK each year.

In a study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, researchers from the University of Aberdeen followed 52 takotsubo patients over the course of four months.

Using ultrasound and cardiac MRI scans to look at how the patients' hearts were functioning in minute detail, the researchers found that the disease had permanently affected the heart's pumping motion.  The twisting or ‘wringing’ motion made by the heart during the heartbeat was delayed and the heart’s squeezing movement was reduced.

The researchers also found that parts of the heart’s muscle are replaced by fine scars, which reduce the elasticity of the heart and prevent it from contracting properly.

These findings may help to explain why takotsubo sufferers have similar long-term survival rates to people who’ve had a heart attack.

Dr Dana Dawson, Reader in Cardiovascular Medicine and BHF-funded researcher at the University of Aberdeen, who led the research, said:

“We used to think that people who suffered from takotsubo cardiomyopathy would fully recover, without medical intervention. Here we’ve shown that this disease has much longer lasting damaging effects on the hearts of those who suffer from it.

“Recent studies have shown that this disease is not as rare as we thought, so finding out the effect that it has on sufferers’ hearts is increasingly important.”

Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said:

“This study has shown that in some patients who develop Takotsubo syndrome various aspects of heart function remain abnormal for up to 4 months afterwards. Worryingly, these patients’ hearts appear to show a form of scarring, indicating that full recovery may take much longer, or indeed may not occur, with current care.

“This highlights the need to urgently find new and more effective treatments for this devastating condition.”

Search News

Browse by Month

2024

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2024
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2024
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2024
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2024
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2024
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2024
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2024
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2024
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2024
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2024

2023

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2023
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2023
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2023
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2023
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2023
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2023
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2023
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2023
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2023
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2023
  12. Dec

2022

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2022
  3. Mar
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2022
  5. May
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2022
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2022
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2022
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2022

2021

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2021
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2020

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2020
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2020
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2020
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2019

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2019
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2018

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2018
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2018
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2018
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2018
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2018
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2018
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2017

  1. Jan
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2017
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2017
  9. Sep
  10. Oct There are no items to show for October 2017
  11. Nov
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2017

2016

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2016
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2016
  12. Dec

2014

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep There are no items to show for September 2014
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

2012

  1. Jan There are no items to show for January 2012
  2. Feb There are no items to show for February 2012
  3. Mar There are no items to show for March 2012
  4. Apr There are no items to show for April 2012
  5. May There are no items to show for May 2012
  6. Jun There are no items to show for June 2012
  7. Jul There are no items to show for July 2012
  8. Aug There are no items to show for August 2012
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov There are no items to show for November 2012
  12. Dec There are no items to show for December 2012