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Men are more likely to die from “broken heart syndrome” than women are, according to a new study published.
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome, is brought on by physical or emotional stress and can affect people suffering from a traumatic event, like the death of a loved one or a divorce, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The study found that, while the syndrome is more likely to affect women, men are more likely to die from it.
Here’s what you should know about the syndrome.
What is broken heart syndrome?
The syndrome “is a reversible left ventricle dysfunction and is triggered by emotional stress, predominantly in women, or physical stress, predominantly in men,” the study stated.
“This condition is known to be associated with sex and race disparities and can lead to significant in‐hospital mortality and morbidity.”
Who did the researchers study?
The study looked at a total of 199,890 patients with broken heart syndrome who were over the age of 18 from 2016 to 2020, according to what was published in the journal.
The study found that the 83% of those affected by the syndrome were women.
Men more than 2x likely to die from broken heart syndrome
While more women were studied than men, the study found that men were more than twice as likely to die from the syndrome as women.
While 5.5% of the female patients studied died due to the syndrome, men saw a higher mortality rate at 11.2%, the study found.
Can outcomes of the syndrome be improved?
Over the course of the study, researchers did not see any improvement in the mortality rate and “major complications were substantial.”
Those being treated for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy saw the following complications:
- Congestive heart failure occurred in 35.9% of patients
- Atrial fibrillation, when one’s heartbeat is irregular, occurred in 20.7% of patients
- Cardiogenic shock, a life-threatening condition when one’s heart suddenly becomes unable to pump enough blood, according to the Mayo Clinic, occurred in 6.6%
- Stroke occurred in 5.3% of patients
- Cardiac arrest occurred in 3.4% of patients
However, that study stated that to improve the outcome of patients, their care needs to be improved first.
“Clinicians need to improve care of these patients to reduce mortality and study the reason for sex differences in outcome,” the study stated.
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn,X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
