If you have gotten your heart broken at some point you know that it might feel like you’re literally dying. That might just be true.

What Is A Broken Heart And How Can You Heal From It?

If you have gotten your heart broken at some point you. know that it might feel like you’re literally dying. That might just be true.

Broken heart syndrome results from short-term heart muscle failure. Arrhythmia, shortness of breath, and sudden chest pain are broken heart syndrome symptoms.

Overview

Albeit temporary, <a href="https://merisehat.pk/disease/broken-heart-syndrome-takotsubo-cardiomyopathy" target="_blank">Broken Heart Syndrome</a> is a real medical condition and is also called Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy or Stress Cardiomyopathy. Takotsubo is a Japanese term and roughly translates to &ldquo;heart muscle problem that looks like an octopus trap.&rdquo; This is because the heart balloons out in a way that makes it look like a tiny pot with a wide bottom and a narrow neck used to catch octopus.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Broken Heart Syndrome

<h5>How Does It Happen? </h5>

The pathophysiology behind this is not very clear but it has consistently been observed in patients that had suffered from some form of emotional trauma before landing in the clinic for this problem. We also see elevated levels of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine). The running hypothesis is that this is what&rsquo;s behind the whole clinical picture.&nbsp;

These hormones disrupt your heart&rsquo;s normal rhythm and cause it to work faster than it is used to. This can temporarily affect your heart muscles. The apex balloons out and the upper portion of the ventricles contracts, giving the classic pot shape. This leads to the ventricles not performing their task of forcefully ejecting the blood through the aorta to deliver it to the rest of the body.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

It mimics a heart attack and you experience sudden chest pain and shortness of breath. Irregular heartbeat, dizziness, nausea and fainting can happen. You also might end up with fluid in your lungs and low blood pressure. People report that their heart was &ldquo;pounding out of their chest&rdquo;. Tests usually lead to normal findings except for a suffering heart. When your heart doesn&rsquo;t work efficiently to deliver blood to your organs, it can undergo shock and stop doing it&rsquo;s normal functions which is why this can be deadly.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<h5>What Causes It? </h5>

You can suffer from the broken heart syndrome due to a break-up, death of a loved one, after suffering a huge loss in your work or even from extreme anger or fear! Brain-heart connection research conducted by Dr Noel Bairey Merz MD at Cedars Sinai has shown first hand that excessive levels of stress can cause serious harm to our hearts.&nbsp;

In rare cases, it might be caused by drugs that lead to the surge of the same hormones mentioned above, such as Duloxetine, Venlafaxine and Levothyroxine to name some. Meth (methamphetamine) and cocaine have been found to cause this as well.&nbsp;

It is also more likely to happen to you if you&rsquo;re a female (88 percent) and likelier if you&rsquo;re a post-menopausal female. This might be due to a loss of the protective effect of oestrogen that is lost with age. But the good news is that this isn&rsquo;t usually fatal and most patients make a complete recovery unless they have an underlying condition 
&nbsp;

<h5>Can You Die From A Broken Heart? </h5>

Now comes the question we have all been thinking about. Short answer: yes. But it&rsquo;s very rare and only one percent of people die. In most cases, the left ventricles return to its normal function after a few months of rest, anti-anxiety medication, heart medication (beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and diuretics), stress management and cardiac rehabilitation. One in five people may have another attack within 10 years but most will heal. With adequate treatment, typical recovery happens in four-eight weeks and imaging tests show your heart returning to normal.&nbsp;

The way we differentiate it from a heart attack is by observing that unlike a heart attack your coronary arteries are completely fine and there&rsquo;s no permanent heart damage, the EKG shows abnormal electrical activity, however, and cardiac enzymes might be raised. Imaging studies show the quintessential ballooned heart picture.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Healing of A Broken Heart

<h5>How Can You Heal From A Broken Heart?</h5>

As with all matters of the heart, there needs to be a multi-tier approach to completely heal and recover from this. We know that the original reason behind it is emotional trauma which results in not only anatomic difficulties but further psychological stress and discomfort. Some measures you can take to protect yourself against this could be:

<ul>
	<li>Exercise Regularly, even as little as 30 minutes of light exercise five times a week might help.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Eat More Vegetables, reduce consumption of red meat and fatty foods. The brain-gut connection can also help you reduce your stress by exposing your stomach to the right kind of foods.</li>
	<li>Develop Better Sleep Hygiene, invest in some things that might help you sleep better such as a weighted blanket or a more comfortable pillow.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Quit Smoking if you do and cut down on stimulants such as tea and coffee. Same goes for alcohol.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Meditate Regularly and sign up for some yoga classes.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Journaling And Mindfulness have been known to reduce stress.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>If you can&rsquo;t find time to meditate you can do Deep Breathing Exercises sitting right at your work desk for even as little as five-10 minutes.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Reduce Stress in your environment, surround yourself with calming scents and lights.</li>
	<li>Seek Professional Psychological Help or join a support group. If you have anxiety or depression you might be more predisposed to intense emotional reactions therefore getting ahead of these issues helps.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Educating And Arming Yourself with stress management techniques in your day to day life ensures that if and when you undergo a sudden extreme event then you can deal with it better.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Ensure You Are In Healthy Reciprocal Relationships and aren&rsquo;t suffering from threats such as abandonment, inconsistent attachment or rejection.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Practice Forgiveness and don&rsquo;t hold onto past hurts.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Invest In Things that bolster your self-esteem such as learning a new skill and believe in the fact that you can make it through anything.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Believe that you are capable of recovering from severe blows in life and it can only get better from this point onwards.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Practice Accountability for any part you might have played in the triggering event such as that one very rough break-up. A trained professional can help you do this better and more systemically with the least harm to your sense of self.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Find Ways to channel your pain into some constructive and creative tasks such as taking up painting or pottery classes.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Try To Look at what you went through as a learning experience and something that just gives you more data on what not to do going forward. 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Bottom Line

A full recovery from a broken heart means you can cultivate deeper levels of trust in yourself so become receptive to the healing process. Sometimes we hold onto the pain and resentment in a last bid to stay connected to our past, a place where we felt comfortable and a place that was familiar. This can do more harm than good. Accept the new reality and know that you can thrive here too.&nbsp;

Trusted By