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Medicine

'Broken Heart Syndrome' Has Increased During COVID-19 Pandemic, Small Study Suggests (cnn.com) 123

Rick Schumann writes: Researchers at a Cleveland clinic performed a study with 1,914 patients into a phenomenon called "Broken Heart Syndrome," where someone can be experiencing heart attack-like symptoms, but it's not a heart attack or anything related to blocked blood flow to the heart. Turns out that it seems likely that the aggregate stresses of the pandemic (so-called "social distancing," lack of contact with fellow humans, enforced isolation, and so on) appear to create emotional stresses that manifest with physical symptoms that mimic a heart attack.

"The pandemic has created a parallel environment which is not healthy," said Dr. Ankur Kalra, the cardiologist who led the study. "Emotional distancing is not healthy. The economic impact is not healthy. We've seen that as an increase in non-coronavirus deaths, and our study says that stress cardiomyopathy has gone up because of the stress that the pandemic has created." The study didn't examine whether or not there could be a medical link between this phenomenon and the coronavirus, but all the participants in the study were tested for infection and were found to be free of the virus.
The study has been published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
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'Broken Heart Syndrome' Has Increased During COVID-19 Pandemic, Small Study Suggests

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  • by h33t l4x0r ( 4107715 ) on Saturday July 11, 2020 @02:22AM (#60285822)
    Thoughts and prayers, guys. Thoughts and prayers.
    • need a little more than a hug.
    • Everybody needs a hug. If there was more of that, for all we know there might be less stupid problems in the world.
  • Fuck that shit (Score:1, Flamebait)

    by AndyKron ( 937105 )
    I'm at home all the time and I wish I could isolate MORE from all the motherfucking Republicans that want to see this country die in the name of profit during this pandemic.
  • extroverts? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Saturday July 11, 2020 @03:36AM (#60285876)

    It would be nice if they did some basic psych profiles on the people studied so it could be determined. You might think this is silly but this is the kind of stuff that is going to be very important for things like Mars colonization. You don't want to end up sending people that crack under the pressure and suddenly have a mystery illness.

    • by Calydor ( 739835 )

      At the very, very least I'd be interested in knowing if there's a difference between introverts and extroverts in this study.

      • Re:extroverts? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by SkonkersBeDonkers ( 6780818 ) on Saturday July 11, 2020 @07:30AM (#60286152)

        Introvert doesn't really mean the thing that many people think it means when they use the word. Introversion is not about not needing people ever, it's about not needing people "all the time" and even needing some time without people some of the time. Many people who are introverts can be the life of the party when they choose to be. Many famous people who are quite comfortable being the spotlight some of the time are themselves introverted and so beside the spotlight, they also crave alone time to recharge.

        I can tell you personally as an introvert that I struggle with this situation today. It's all but eliminated the time I do get to spend with the ones I love and I don't have a backup plan because unlike many of the extroverts I know, I do not find things like zoom to be a help, in fact, participating in zoom calls just makes me all the more despondent. It's like I'm starving and shown a table full of food I can't touch.

        • I can tell you personally as an introvert that I struggle with this situation today.

          It's because you build a wall between yourself and other people.

        • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          Introversion and extroversion are really about where one gets their energy from.

          Introverts generally get their energy from doing quiet things and being alone, contemplative and such. Extroverts generally get their energy from being out and about in groups.

          Energy here being a more metaphorical sense than actual energy.

          Put each in the other's group and it drains their energy, leading to time required in their "native" group to rejuvenate.

          You can have introverted social butterflies - these people generally hav

    • by Anonymous Coward

      There have been studies of the syndrome since it has resulted in death by deforming and stunning the heart, although at a far lower rate than actual heart attacks result in death.

      It's officially called "Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy", named after a type of Japanese fishing pot, that resembles what the deformed left ventricle looks like in those that suffer from it.

      There is a lot of subject material as it appears a few hundred prisoners die every month in US prisons caused by it, as medical care isn't available i

  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Saturday July 11, 2020 @03:52AM (#60285898)

    Hey, how about giving back all the great advice I got so far, from "Hey, it ain't that bad" right to "C'mon, stop being such a crybaby".

    Get used to it. I did too.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Would you have the same attitude if it was a back injury? "Just get used to carrying 40kg packs, I did!"

      • If they first told me to walk it off because it's nothing?

        Yes. Yes I would. Yes, I'm petty like that. If you make me suffer, I enjoy watching you suffer.

        • by Kokuyo ( 549451 )

          I think AniMoJo might have missed the part of your post where you CLEARLY are miffed about people reacting like this towards you instead of you actually thinking people with this condition are whiners.

          It's kinda par for the course with him. Her? It? Ah, whatever.

          I must admit I can empathize with you. It suck when everyone around you think your problem isn't worth mentioning, just "do what thesy did".

          Mental blockades are a bitch. Whether it's depressions or any other mental illness. I am still wating for my

          • Oh yeah, "go out and have some fun". Great advice. Got this one myself.

            Unfortunately, I went out and did not have fun. Maybe I was having fun wrong.

            • Tried that. Didn't work out so well. Now I don't internalize my anger anymore but let it go back to the world. Much, much more relaxing that way.

              Internalized anger is depression. Externalized anger, that's me.

              • Ever tried moclobemide? It will focus your anger ton important things and help you not giving a shit about the small stuff.
                Raises the blood pressure, though.

                • I'm doing fine now, thank you. I found it's very relaxing to fuck up the world, it gives me something to do and entertains me greatly.

  • I've found most so-called humans to be nothing but irritants.

    Mind you, I am a Dalek.

  • https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/... [ctvnews.ca]

    Kids with COVID-toes were testing negative for the virus, too. Then they did some biopsies and found the virus in the tissue. Until they can biopsy some heart tissue, I think they should assume that it's an actual infection, not a mental condition. A localized infection is weird, but it seems a lot more likely.

  • Panic attacks (Score:5, Insightful)

    by markdavis ( 642305 ) on Saturday July 11, 2020 @07:44AM (#60286176)

    >"appear to create emotional stresses that manifest with physical symptoms that mimic a heart attack."

    Hasn't that always been called "panic attacks"?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

    I have never had such a thing, but I know they are real. It is pretty amazing just how much stress and other mental issues can affect the physical body.

    • Re:Panic attacks (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Dixie_Flatline ( 5077 ) <.vincent.jan.goh. .at. .gmail.com.> on Saturday July 11, 2020 @09:56AM (#60286436) Homepage

      I have panic attacks from time to time. For a long time I didn't know what they were. They manifest differently for different people—for me, I'm just convinced that I'm about to die. I'm light-headed and I feel like my heart is pounding. Importantly, however, nothing is wrong. If I take my pulse, it's barely elevated. They're a weird condition.

    • First thing I thought (as a Psychiatrist)
    • Yeah, panic attack was my first thought. Had a few in the past, and it's easy to think you're having a heart attack, especially that first time.
       
      Interestingly, I'm personally in better physical and mental shape than I've been in years. Lack of activity options has gotten me and the family outdoors and exercising together. Extra time with the family from working from home has brought us a lot closer together. Ironic that it took a global pandemic to get us healthy.

      • >"Yeah, panic attack was my first thought. Had a few in the past, and it's easy to think you're having a heart attack, especially that first time."

        Although I have never had a panic attack, I suddenly developed PVC (heart palpitations) several years ago. No known cause, and apparently not dangerous (after complete evals). But when they first started, it was quite scary and concerning. So I imagine it is somewhat similar, although far less scary than a panic attack.

        >"Interestingly, I'm personally in

    • "Broken Heart Syndrome" is a specific physical response [wikipedia.org] in which the heart actually shrinks.
    • by sjames ( 1099 )

      No, it hasn't. Broken heart syndrome is a recognized medical condition, usually seen in people who have recently lost a loved one.

      A panic attack is a transient thing that may make the victim feel like they're having a heart attack but the heart appears normal in tests.

      Broken Heart Syndrome may also feel like a heart attack, but the heart actually does show altered function/loss of function. It can be severe enough to result in cardiogenic shock (dangerously low blood pressure due to the heart failing to pum

      • by AuMatar ( 183847 )

        Transient makes it sound like its minor and short. My sister had one that lasted a week plus. Imagine a week of thinking you had a heart attack in your 30s (and she did go to the emergency room to get checked). Don't minimalize how scary panic attacks can be.

        • by sjames ( 1099 )

          I'm not meaning to minimize it, just distinguish it from broken heart syndrome. USUALLY, panic attacks subside in minutes. That's not to say those minutes aren't terrible for the sufferer.

  • 'Broken Heart Syndrome' Has Increased During COVID-19 Pandemic, Small Study Suggests

    Isn't Country/Western Music the authority on this?

  • What about introverts? My routine now is not substantially different from before, and I'm fine. I find it hard to believe it's really that difficult to stay away from people for so long, to just sit in a room by yourself and, I don't know, use your brain and think? Read? Write? Other hobbies? Exercise? Connect online, over the phone, over video conferencing.

    I dispute the claim or implication that distancing is "the" cause for the uptick in heat attacks or heart condition. Sure, there might be a correlation.

  • by Eravnrekaree ( 467752 ) on Saturday July 11, 2020 @09:40AM (#60286416)

    Sounds like rubbish to me created by the corporatists as an excuse to sacrifice the lives of workers by reopening with garbage science. What WILL hurt people is to get the virus, and then you're heart can really end up in real trouble.

    Anyway, other studies have found that the distancing restrictions have increased happiness and mental health. Its allowed people time to be with their children rather than both parents working 12 hours a day where they barely ever get to see them, to take up hobbies, exercise and so on. So its been very healthy for people. Corporations don't like it but they want parents locked up in office buildings and their children back in the prison like schools to be brainwashed like before.

    Behind the "reopen" mantra are the Koch Family and US Chamber of Commerce, notoriously bloodthirsty organizations who sacrifice the health of workers to make a buck.

  • by tpjunkie ( 911544 ) on Saturday July 11, 2020 @10:08AM (#60286446) Journal
    The original paper is referring to Takotsubo's Cardiomyopathy, which is a very real condition brought about by high levels of stress, including emotional. I've rarely heard it described as "mimicking a heart attack," but its much more similar to the after effects of a heart attack in that there is a decreased ejection fraction (percentage of blood ejected from the left ventricle, normally in the 55-65% range, can drop to the 20s in severe presentations, which would be considered severe heart failure). I've seen and treated a few cases of this myself. I'm not especially surprised there are more cases cropping up with the current pandemic.
    • by N_Piper ( 940061 )
      I believe the "mimicking a heart attack" is more from the perspective of the person experiencing it.
      Though, given the variability of symptoms from the plethora of heart issues that are colloquially known as heart attacks, basically anything happening in the trunk of the body can be described as "mimicking a heart attack".
  • 95% of all comments in this so-called 'discussion' have taken a medical condition and turned it into a gods-be-damned political football. Nice job, everyone, nice fucking job.
  • My sister is acting irrationally.

    She can suffocate herself with impunity.

    When she forces her children to do it, though, that in my mind is child abuse.

    Their brains are developing, and forcing them to breathe their own exhaust is harming them.

    When I point this out, she says I'm the crazy one and that I should use "self-talk" to get over my "anxiety".

  • A perfect example of abuse of the title "Doctor" to make wild claims entirely outside of his knowledge. The man is a Cardiologist with no other outside specialties other than apparently spending his spare time doing data analytics and padding his "scientific manuscripts" numbers with autobiographical essays and editorial letters.
    The man is qualified to tell you that, yes, you were having a panic attack and not a heart attack but for him to speculate on the cause of that panic attack is ENTIRELY irresponsib
  • Certainly, the lack of tech news is to be expected, but the attempts to maintain engagement by just posting articles left and right that are vaguely science or medicine is disappointing.

    Not everybody is able to evaluate a scientific paper. Journalistic summaries are often proof of that. No, being a programmer is not sufficient (or necessary) for scientific literacy. You actually need specialized experience. Yes, experience, just being smart isn't enough either. Wisdom is not intelligence. If there was only

  • I can't be surprised at all as some people have it worst than us. Perhaps they're already facing some mental issues before covid and now they're stuck in home 24/7....

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