Takotsubo (or “stress” cardiomyopathy) often affects people who have experienced severe emotional stress such as death, theft, accidents
Is it normal for people affected by Takotsubo to have a strong sensitivity to adrenaline even when the echocardiographic situation has been normal for several months? For example, I still have a hard time watching action movies.
He answers Paolo Mario Ravagnanihead of the Cardiovascular Outpatient Clinic, Monzino IRCCS Cardiological Center, Milan (VAI AL FORUM)
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a form of acute cardiac disease that is almost indistinguishable from a a classic myocardial infarction, with the fundamental difference that in the case of Takotsubo the coronaries are free from obstructive and/or thrombotic pathology. Also known as “stress cardiomyopathy” or “broken heart syndrome”, this condition takes its name from a type of Japanese vessel used in octopus fishing («tako tsubo»), whose shape resembles that of the left ventricle affected by this pathology. Although there are still many questions to be clarified, in general it is believed a strong release of catecholamines (such as adrenaline) or a marked sensitivity to these substances plays a fundamental role in the genesis of Takotsubo. In fact, very often the people affected had just experienced strong emotional stress such as mourning, theft, an accident or bad news; cases of Takotsubo are also more frequent in coincidence with events such as earthquakes or other natural disasters.
An interesting aspect is that sometimes the adrenaline rush can also come from a theoretically positive emotional impact: a variant of Takotsubo called “Happy Heart Syndrome” has in fact been described, in which the triggering events had been, for example, the wedding of a son, the birth of a grandson, an important birthday or even the victory of the favorite team. From an epidemiological point of view, women appear to be decidedly more vulnerable than men, with a nine times higher risk. Among them, those over 50 or postmenopausal are at much higher risk, suggesting some role of the hormonal structure in the genesis of the disease. Finally, a greater predisposition was found in subjects already being treated for psychological problems such as anxious or depressive syndromes.
In general, the consequences of too “push” activities should not be underestimated the obsessive search for strong emotional stimulation is not recommended. Having said that, I would like to reassure the reader: the risk of recurrence of Takotsubo episodes is relatively lowand the probability tends to decrease the further one gets away from the offending event.
March 30, 2023 (change March 30, 2023 | 06:37)
© breaking latest news