In a new study, researchers found that heightened activity in the brain, caused by stressful events, is linked to the risk of developing a rare and sometimes fatal broken-heart syndrome.
The researchers suggest that interventions to lower this stress-related brain activity could help to reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
These could include drug treatments or techniques for lowering stress.
The research was conducted by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Broken-heart syndrome is a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscles that causes the left ventricle of the heart to balloon out at the bottom while the neck remains narrow.
This can create a shape resembling a Japanese octopus trap, from which it gets its name.
Since this relatively rare condition was first described in 1990, evidence has suggested that it is typically triggered by episodes of severe emotional distress, such as grief, anger or fear, or reactions to happy or joyful events.
Patients develop chest pains and breathlessness, and it can lead to heart attacks and death. The disease is more common in women with only 10% of cases occurring in men.
The amygdala is the part of the brain that controls emotions, motivation, learning and memory. It is also involved in the control of the autonomic nervous system and regulating heart function.
In the study, the team analyzed data on 104 people with an average age of 68 years, 72% of whom were women.
They matched 41 people who went on to develop broken-heart syndrome between six months and five years after the scan with 63 who did not.
They found the greater the activity in nerve cells in the amygdala region of the brain, the sooner the broken-heart syndrome can develop.
Among the 41 patients who developed the heart condition, the average interval between the scan and the disease was 0.9 months, whereas, among the control group of 63 patients, the average interval between the scan and last follow-up or death was 2.9 years.
These findings add to evidence of the adverse effect of stress-related biology on the cardiovascular system.
Findings such as these underscore the need for more study into the impact of stress reduction or drug interventions targeting these brain regions on heart health.
In the meantime, when encountering a patient with high chronic stress, doctors could reasonably consider the possibility that alleviation of stress might result in benefits to the heart.
The study is published in the European Heart Journal. One author of the study is Dr. Ahmed Tawakol.
Copyright © 2021 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
