In a new study, researchers found that one in six people with broken heart syndrome had cancer and they were less likely to survive for five years after it occurred
The research was conducted by a team at The University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland and elsewhere.
Broken heart syndrome, also called takotsubo syndrome, occurs when the heart’s main pumping chamber temporarily enlarges and doesn’t pump well.
Although the syndrome may feel like a heart attack, with chest pain and shortness of breath, there is no heart muscle damage and no blockage in the coronary arteries feeding the heart.
Broken heart syndrome can be triggered by emotional or physical stress.
This international study of patients from 26 centers provides the strongest association yet between the syndrome and cancer.
The team found among 1,604 patients with broken heart syndrome in the International Takotsubo Registry, 267 patients or 1 in 6 had cancer.
The most frequent type of malignancy was breast cancer, followed by tumors affecting the gastrointestinal system, respiratory tract, internal sex organs, skin, and other areas.
Compared to those without cancer, the researchers found that patients with cancer were:
Less likely to have experienced an emotional trigger for the syndrome, more likely to have experienced a physical trigger (such as a medical intervention or physical trauma) prior to the syndrome, just as likely to survive for 30 days after the syndrome began, although more likely to die or require intensive heart and respiratory support while in the hospital, and more likely to die within 5 years after the syndrome began.
The team says patients with broken heart syndrome might benefit if screened for cancer to improve their overall survival.
The study also should raise awareness among oncologists and hematologists that broken heart syndrome should be considered in patients undergoing cancer diagnosis or treatment who experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or abnormalities on their electrocardiogram.
The lead author of the study is Christian Templin, M.D., Ph.D., the director of Interventional Cardiology of the Andreas Grüntzig Heart Catheterization Laboratories.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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