How a broken heart affects your body — Transcript

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1. 0:06Losing a loved one can be one of the most traumatic experiences
2. 0:10of a person’s life.
3. 0:12Grief brings on a whole host of strong emotions
4. 0:16that impact both our mental and physical health.
5. 0:19But is it possible for these powerful feelings to endanger your life?
6. 0:24In other words, can you actually die from a broken heart?
7. 0:30One of the most widely documented medical phenomena
8. 0:33addressing this question is the widowhood effect.
9. 0:36Studies of elderly couples have found that a person’s risk of dying
10. 0:40can increase by up to 90% over the three months following their spouse’s death,
11. 0:46leading a significant number of couples to pass away months, weeks,
12. 0:52or even days apart.
13. 0:54There are a lot of theories explaining this effect.
14. 0:58One study found that severe grief and depression
15. 1:01were associated with higher levels of inflammatory proteins in the blood,
16. 1:05potentially impairing the immune system.
17. 1:08And depression, combined with the loss of a supporting partner,
18. 1:12can make it hard for a person to keep up with their daily health needs.
19. 1:16Similarly, chronic stress can alter hormone levels, impair digestion,
20. 1:21and dysregulate the immune system.
21. 1:24But while all these factors can reduce life expectancy,
22. 1:28there’s another condition where powerful emotions
23. 1:30can directly endanger someone’s life:
24. 1:33takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
25. 1:36Also known as stress cardiomyopathy, or “broken heart syndrome,”
26. 1:42this was originally labeled by Japanese doctors in 1990,
27. 1:46who named the condition after the Japanese word for an octopus trap.
28. 1:50In takotsubo cardiomyopathy,
29. 1:53the left ventricle— one of the heart’s four chambers—
30. 1:56pools with blood and balloons outward,
31. 1:59giving it a distinctively takotsubo-like shape.
32. 2:04And while most patients can recover over several weeks,
33. 2:07roughly 5% will experience a potentially lethal cardiac arrest.
34. 2:13While the exact cause of takotsubo cardiomyopathy is still being studied,
35. 2:18the condition often appears after a sudden traumatic event.
36. 2:22And since cases have been triggered by both shocking grief
37. 2:25and unexpected happiness,
38. 2:28it's likely not the nature of the emotion that matters, but the intensity.
39. 2:33Intense emotional events lead to a sudden increase in two hormones:
40. 2:38epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, and norepinephrine.
41. 2:42Both these hormones interact with beta-adrenergic receptors,
42. 2:46which have a high concentration in the left ventricle.
43. 2:50So during takotsubo cardiomyopathy,
44. 2:52researchers believe epinephrine and norepinephrine flood the left ventricle,
45. 2:58triggering it to contract rapidly and repeatedly.
46. 3:02Within minutes, this activity exhausts the ventricle.
47. 3:05And since it’s unable to pump effectively, blood begins to pool.
48. 3:11This hormonal spike can also cause spasms in the blood vessels
49. 3:14that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients.
50. 3:17So despite all the blood inside the heart,
51. 3:20the muscle tissue itself may not be getting enough blood flow to function.
52. 3:25The result of all this is something that often feels like a heart attack
53. 3:29without actually being one.
54. 3:32People undergoing takotsubo cardiomyopathy
55. 3:34often experience intense chest pain and shortness of breath,
56. 3:39even though their arteries aren’t blocked
57. 3:40like they would be during a heart attack.
58. 3:43This similarity in symptoms also makes the condition difficult to diagnose,
59. 3:48and it's easily confused for more common cardiac conditions.
60. 3:52Fortunately, the initial treatment for takotsubo cardiomyopathy
61. 3:56and a heart attack is the same.
62. 3:59Doctors may prescribe blood thinners to prevent clotting in the heart
63. 4:03and beta blockers to slow the heart's contractions.
64. 4:07Beyond that, patients might take blood thinners
65. 4:09and blood pressure medications to protect their heart in the long run.
66. 4:13But there currently aren’t any specific treatments for takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
67. 4:18We also don't know exactly when it will strike.
68. 4:22The population that appears most at risk is postmenopausal women,
69. 4:27perhaps because estrogen helps prevent cardiovascular disease,
70. 4:31and menopause decreases estrogen production.
71. 4:34But obviously anyone can experience traumatic emotions.
72. 4:38The good news is that in most cases patients make a full recovery.
73. 4:43Because while our bodies are sensitive to the ups and downs of our emotions,
74. 4:47they're also resilient.
75. 4:50And much like a broken bone,
76. 4:52even a broken heart can heal with time and care.