“Broken Heart Syndrome”: What Women Should Know

Abstract

The Takotsubo syndrome or apical ballooning, also known as “broken heart syndrome†(BHS) among a variety of suggested names, was first described by Sato et al in the Japanese population approximately 20 years ago. Since then, it has been increasingly recognized in other countries and in 2006 it was classified as a type of stress cardiomyopathy among acquired cardiomyopathies. The prevalence of the BHS is estimated to be 1-2% of patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome but higher rates have been reported lately, due to a wider recognition of the syndrome. One of the hallmarks of the BHS is a strict predilection for postmenopausal women (over 90% in most series), whereas men account for less than 10% of cases. It has also been reported that among BHS patients, 43% had a preceding acute medical condition and 27% had a severe emotional or physical stressor associated with a “fight or flight†hypersympathetic response... (excerpt)