Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, often called broken heart syndrome, continues to carry a high risk of death and complications, with no signs of improvement between 2016 and 2020.
This is according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The condition is triggered by severe emotional or physical stress, such as the loss of a loved one. It causes part of the heart to temporarily enlarge and lose its ability to pump properly, mimicking a heart attack. Though often mistaken for a heart attack due to similar symptoms and test results, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy can lead to serious and even fatal outcomes.
A large study led by Dr. M. Reza Movahed of the University of Arizona reviewed records from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. The team examined 199,890 cases from 2016 to 2020. Key findings include:
A 6.5% overall in-hospital death rate, with no improvement across five years. Men had a much higher death rate (11.2%) than women (5.5%). Complications were common, including heart failure (35.9%), atrial fibrillation (20.7%), cardiogenic shock (6.6%), stroke (5.3%), and cardiac arrest (3.4%).
People over age 61 were most affected, but the 46–60 age group had 2.6 to 3.25 times higher rates than those aged 31–45. White adults had the highest incidence rate (0.16%), followed by Native Americans (0.13%) and Black adults (0.07%).
Dr. Movahed emphasized the importance of early diagnosis and close monitoring. He noted that proper use of coronary angiograms and awareness of heart motion patterns could help differentiate between Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and other cardiac events. He also advocated for early use of anti-clotting medication in high-risk patients to prevent strokes.
Interestingly, the age-related differences could improve diagnosis and challenge the belief that this syndrome is only a risk for elderly patients. Socioeconomic disparities also appeared in the data, suggesting a need for broader health equity efforts.
While the study had some limitations—including reliance on hospital coding and lack of outpatient data—researchers say more studies are needed to refine treatment and understand why men face worse outcomes than women.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy remains a serious condition requiring improved diagnosis, monitoring, and possibly new therapies to reduce its burden on patients and healthcare systems.
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The study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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