Lifestyle
Woman Hospitalized for ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’ After Her Dog Passes
My Statesman writes that the death of a pet can literally leave you with a broken heart. When Joanie Simpson, 62, lost her Yorkshire terrier Meha, she was devastated. And soon afterward, she woke up with chest pains and a backache that led to her needing immediate medical attention and even an emergency helicopter ride to Memorial Hermann hospital. Doctors assumed Simpson was having a heart attack, but a closer look at her condition showed that she had Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, 90 percent of people who suffer from this condition are women between the ages of 58 to 75. Patients can recover completely within a month from Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which is technically considered “…a weakening of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber.” It feels like a heart attack in terms of pain and shortness of breath and even looks like one on an electrocardiogram. But doctors will notice ballooning and movement abnormalities in the left ventricle and no blocked arteries.
In the case of Simpson, and many other patients, the condition is brought on by a series of stressors, but particular events can push one over the edge like a death, receiving bad medical news, a car accident, financial loss, intense fear or pain, and a positive or negative sudden surprise.
