Turns Out, ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’ Is A Real Thing and It’s Increased During The Pandemic
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is known as the “Broken Heart Syndrome”. It is when the heart muscle becomes suddenly weakened or stunned. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy mostly happens after severe physical or emotional stress.
Thankfully, the condition is temporary, with most people feel better in a few days or weeks. Most are fully recovered within two months. But, that doesn’t make it any less scary for those that experience it.
It actually presents like a heart attack, but instead of there being a blockage like with a heart attack, there is not. Even though most recover, in some rare instances it can be deadly. Anything to do with the heart is scary.
A small study conducted in 2 hospitals have noticed an increase of the “Broken Heart Syndrome” during the pandemic, and honestly it seems logical with all of the stress people are under.
I know some are handling all of this very well, but some of us are really struggling. I’m not even a super social person, but being at home all of the time and not doing the things I love, such as my photography business is really hard.
I am diagnosed and suffer from severe depression due to disability and chronic illness. A lot of us with depression use distraction to get through it, and right now the ability to distract is low. Which increases depressive behavior.
Even people who have never experienced severe depression are now having feelings they never had before. Everything is completely flipped upside down for so many people and that is hard.
In the study at two Ohio hospitals, they have noticed a significant increase. These are patients that do not have the coronavirus. These doctors believe that the stressors caused by the pandemic, whether they be social, physical, or economic are taking a physical toll on people.
The pandemic has created a parallel environment which is not healthy. Emotional distancing is not healthy. The economic impact is not healthy. We’ve seen that as an increase in non-coronavirus deaths, and our study says that stress cardiomyopathy has gone up because of the stress that the pandemic has created.
Dr. Ankur Kalra, the cardiologist who led the study.
In the study, they concluded that current patients are two times likelier to have broken heart syndrome than they were before the pandemic. That’s rough y’all.
Since “stay at home” orders first became a thing, I have talked about this with friends and family. The impact that stress is having on people. It’s awful.
Even public health authorities all over the world have talked about the impact of all of this on mental health. Isolation is not good for people, especially those with mental health issues already.
When you are lonely you head to social media and it can be even more overwhelming. People arguing, no one knows what to do, how to feel, how to vent, how to listen. People judging what they don’t know has been a big one for me.
So how about we reach out and try to help each other. Message someone and check on them. Send them a letter in the mail. Do something. Being alone isn’t good for anyone.
