It’s no secret that your emotional state can impact your physical health. Your brain and your body are so closely linked that stressful or emotional events may manifest in physical symptoms. One example of this is stress-induced cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome.
Like its name suggests, broken heart syndrome is damage to your heart that occurs as a result of extreme emotional stress. While broken heart syndrome can affect anyone, it’s particularly common in older adults. As you age, your heart is already more vulnerable to damage. Life-changing events like the death of a spouse become more likely as you get older, too.
Understanding what broken heart syndrome is and why it happens could help you better understand your own health, especially if you’ve been experiencing symptoms after an emotional trauma. Broken heart syndrome is fairly rare, but it can lead to some concerning health complications.
What Is Broken Heart Syndrome?
Also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, broken heart syndrome is a condition that occurs when the heart muscle becomes dilated and doesn’t pump blood properly. This can happen after an intensely emotional or stressful event if your body’s hormones become imbalanced for a prolonged amount of time.
The key difference between stress-induced cardiomyopathy and other forms of cardiomyopathy is that the stress-induced condition typically returns to normal after a short period of time. While some people do experience complications from broken heart syndrome, it’s most often a reversible health condition.
Doctors usually diagnose stress-induced cardiomyopathy with an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram. Both of these tests may show abnormal patterns in your heart activity if you have broken heart syndrome. Your cardiologist might also check for heart damage by running a cardiac enzyme blood test. In many cases of broken heart syndrome, the blood test shows less damage than doctors expect based on the patient’s symptoms. This is one way that they differentiate between broken heart syndrome and a heart attack.
What Does Broken Heart Syndrome Feel Like?
In many ways, the symptoms of broken heart syndrome mimic the symptoms of a heart attack. Doctors might even mistake the condition for a heart attack at first. However, unlike a heart attack, broken heart syndrome isn’t associated with plaque buildup or other visible signs of heart damage.
The following are some of the most common physical signs of a broken heart:
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Abnormal heartbeat
- Dizziness
- Excessive sweating
- Low blood pressure
Causes
Broken heart syndrome usually happens after a major life event that has lasting emotional repercussions. One of the most common causes in older adults is the loss of a spouse. Adjusting to life after your spouse passes away can be immensely difficult, and the stress and pain can build up until it affects your heart. Other explanations for broken heart syndrome include divorce, a frightening medical diagnosis, a job loss, or a long-distance move.
Even positive events could cause broken heart syndrome if they lead to a dramatic change in your life. All life transitions are stressful regardless of whether or not they’re welcome, and the intensity of the change could turn into stress on your body.
When you’re going through a major life event, your brain signals to your body to release stress hormones. If these hormones stay elevated for too long, your heart can become enlarged as a result of the excess blood flow. Then, your heart works in overdrive for days or week until it can no longer pump blood efficiently.
Sometimes, physical health issues play a role in broken heart syndrome. For example, people sometimes develop stress-induced cardiomyopathy after a surgery or a stroke. This may be due to the physical effects of these health experiences combined with the mental stress of a major medical event.
About 85 percent of broken heart syndrome cases occur in older women. Experts aren’t sure exactly why women are so disproportionately affected, but it may be because women tend to handle stress differently than men. This might lead to more strain on the body after a stressful life experience.
Health Outcomes
Any heart issue is cause for concern, especially for older adults. Fortunately, though, the majority of people with broken heart syndrome recover quickly without any complications. Doctors typically treat broken heart syndrome in the same way they treat heart attacks. You might be prescribed medication to lower your blood pressure and to reduce your risk of blood clots.
However, if broken heart syndrome goes untreated, the problem could get worse. A small percentage of patients do pass away from broken heart syndrome if the condition leads to cardiogenic shock. Other possible complications include blood clots, abnormal heart rhythms, and issues with your heart valves.
If you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or any other concerning symptoms, you should seek medical attention right away. These symptoms can be a sign of serious and life-threatening heart issues, and receiving help immediately can make a big difference in your prognosis.
Preventing Broken Heart Syndrome
Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is your body’s response to a buildup of stress, so the best way to prevent broken heart syndrome is to find healthy coping skills for difficult life events. Ideally, you should practice your stress management skills at a time in your life when you already feel well. By building these healthy habits into your life as soon as possible, it will be far easier to turn to them when you actually encounter a high-stress situation.
Mindfulness meditation and deep breathing are both excellent ways to reduce the emotional and physical symptoms of stress. Many seniors find that creative outlets like painting, singing, or making crafts are very soothing and rewarding. It’s always helpful to have a strong support network, too. When you can count on your family and friends to help you through tough times, you’re much less likely to develop chronic stress.
Counseling for seniors is also a powerful resource for older adults who are going through life-changing events. Your therapist can offer you a safe, confidential environment for you to express your grief, anger, or sadness over the challenges in your life. Older adults often feel like they need to conceal or suppress their emotions, but counseling for seniors can be your opportunity to truly speak your mind. Expressing your emotions is the first step toward getting them under control.
Additionally, your therapist can work with you to find the positive coping skills that will help you carry on despite the difficult circumstances. You can practice these coping skills during your therapy sessions with an expert who specializes in counseling for seniors. As you become more familiar with the stress management techniques that work best for you, you’ll find that you can independently apply them in your daily life.
Blue Moon Senior Counseling offers therapy services for older adults. If you’re worried about broken heart syndrome or want to strengthen your stress management skills, we’re happy to help. You can contact us today to learn more about the benefits of counseling for seniors.