Broken heart syndrome can lead to cancer

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Regardless its detailed ringing name, “broken-heart syndrome” is in fact a real disease and now researchers have found evidence that it’s connected to the second leading cause of death worldwide: cancer.

According to research, in 1990, scientists in Japan first recognised Takotsubo syndrome (TTS), and causes symptoms such as sudden chest pain, short of breath and low blood pressure. The Harvard Medical School describes it as a sudden “weakening of the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber.”
The condition has long been connected to an emotionally traumatizing events, which can also trigger mental illness.

Research states that one in six of patients with TTS had cancer and, perhaps relatedly, were far less likely to survive for five years after it occurred. The most common cancer among participants, 87 percent of whom were women — was breast, but included cancers affecting other parts of the body, such as the skin and gastrointestinal system. The patients with cancer and TTS were “more likely to have experienced a physical trigger (such as a medical intervention or physical trauma) prior to the syndrome,” than TTS patients without cancer.

People who experience the symptoms of TTS can act like its heart attack, be conscious. Patients with broken heart syndrome might benefit if screened for cancer to improve their overall survival.

Broken heart syndrome should be considered in patients undergoing cancer diagnosis or treatment who experience chest pain, short of breath, or abnormalities on their electrocardiogram.

TTS, is life-threatening, treatable and often, symptoms may disappear on their own.


Source: Journal of the American Heart Association