Can You Die If Your Heart Is Broken ?

 Yes, it’s called Takotsubo syndrome. It’s also called stress-induced cardiomyopathy: “stress” referring to an extraordinary event occurring in one’s life, such as grief over the death of a loved one, or a sudden severe injury or illness. It’s sometimes a challenge to diagnose because it is frequently a diagnosis of exclusion. It can be mistaken for a myocardial infarction, but there is no significant myocardial necrosis or cell death. Hence the condition may have a rough initial course but has a favorable prognosis if the patient takes the appropriate combination of heart failure medications.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber, usually as the result of severe emotional or physical stress, such as a sudden illness, the loss of a loved one, a serious accident, or a natural disaster such as an earthquake. (For additional examples, see "Stressors associated with takotsubo cardiomyopathy.") That's why the condition is also called stress-induced cardiomyopathy, or broken-heart syndrome. The main symptoms are chest pain and shortness of breath.

Either physical or emotional stress or both can cause the syndrome.

Physical stressors may look like:-

• High fever

• Stroke

• Problem with breathing

• Low blood sugar

• Significant bleeding

Emotional stressors could be :-

• Grief

• Fear

• Extreme aggression

• Surprise

Why is it called as such?

Broken heart syndrome, they noted that the left ventricle had taken on an unusual shape resembling a fishing pot.

During an episode, the heart muscle can be so profoundly affected that it can't pump blood out to the body strong enough. As a result, the patient may develop heart failure. This can be life-threatening.

 The symptoms are so similar to those of traditional heart attacks that you, a paramedic, and even many ER doctors don’t know the difference. They include:

• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Dizziness

Because traditionally heart attacks are precipitated by stress, you should not take any chance.

How it is diagnosed 

To diagnose broken heart syndrome, doctors usually perform an angiogram. This provides images of the major blood vessels that supply your heart. During a heart attack, one or more arteries are often blocked

During broken heart syndrome, these blood vessels look OK.

Your doctor is likely going to want to also perform an echocardiogram. This takes pictures of your heart, which may reveal the tell-tale fishing pot shape. 

Who is at risk

Women are much more likely to have broken heart syndrome than men, especially women who are over 50. This could be a result of lower estrogen levels, but doctors aren't sure. Common risk factors include:

• Being over 50 (for men and women)
• Genetics. Experts also believe that genes may make some people more likely to get broken heart syndrome.

Good news

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is completely reversible and treatable. Most people who experience it make a full recovery within weeks, and they’re at low risk for it happening again (although in rare cases it can be fatal)