We often hear about how very stressful tragic events can cause serious heart problems. It seems that good events can also cause heart problems. The European Society of Cardiology reported, happiness can also break your heart. A condition which is known as takotsubo syndrome can be triggered by happy events.
Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is also known as “broken heart syndrome.” In this condition there is a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscles that results in the ballooning out of the left ventricle of the heart while the neck remains narrow. This results in the heart taking a shape which resembles a Japanese octopus trap from which this syndrome gets its name.
This relatively rare condition was first described in 1990. Evidence over the years suggested that it is generally set off by episodes of severe emotional distress such as anger, fear or grief. This leads to patients developing breathlessness and chest pains. The syndrome can lead to heart attacks and even death. It has recently been recognized by researchers that some patients have developed the Takotsubo syndrome after they experienced a happy or joyful event.
This is where the name “happy heart syndrome” has come from. Dr Christian Templin, principle investigator for this study and consultant cardiologist, along with Dr Jelena Ghadri, a resident cardiologist, established the first International Takotsubo Registry located at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland. They found that in some patients Takotsubo syndrome was precipitated by happy and joyful events, such as a wedding or birthday party. Many cases as expected occurred after sad and stressful events, such as death of a loved one, a funeral, an accident, concerns about illness, or problems with a relationship.
This study has been published in European Heart Journal. It has been recognized that Takotsubo syndrome is generally provoked by negative stressors such as anger, grief, or fear. However the role of positive emotions triggering this syndrome has not been clear. It is now recognized that this syndrome can be set off by negative and positive life events.
Clinicians should consider that patients who arrive in the emergency department who are suffering from signs of heart attacks, such as chest pain and breathlessness, after a happy event or a happy emotion, may be suffering from this syndrome as much as a similar patient who presents after a negative emotional event. It seems like a good idea to try to avoid being too sad or too happy.
