A broken heart is as deadly as a heart attack.
Scientists in Scotland have found that people are at the same risk of dying from a broken heart as those who suffer from a ‘true’ heart attack.
A team at the University of Aberdeen explained that takotsubo cardiomyopathy – ‘broken heart syndrome’ – affects 70 people in the country each year.
The condition is caused by extreme emotional distress and leads to the heart’s left ventricle growing larger, impacting the organ’s ability to pump blood around the body.
Professor Dana Dawson, from the university’s cardiology and cardiovascular research unit, said: “Takotsubo cardiomyopathy happens as a reaction to upsetting events such as the death of a family member, to the ending of a relationship or illness, when distress signals travel from the brain to the heart.
“Our data shows quite starkly that we are not treating this condition correctly.
“These patients have increased mortality compared to the general population, an increased vulnerability to developing heart conditions, and as much chance of dying from this as people who have heart attacks.”
