A new study, published in July 2020 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found a significant increase in cases of stress cardiomyopathy since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Stress cardiomyopathy, better known as broken heart syndrome, can be characterized by physical or emotional stress that results in dysfunction or failure of the heart muscle. Patients of broken heart syndrome can experience symptoms similar to a heart attack, such as shortness of breath and chest pain; however, their heart arteries appear normal. “What we find in patients with stress cardiomyopathy is that the reason for their hearts to fail is actually due to an adrenaline surge, which is caused by extreme stress in the patient’s life,” explains Grant Reed, MD, an interventional cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and senior author of the study. “Some common triggers of this are death of a family member or friend, death of a pet, loss of a job, or any of these major stressors in one’s life.” RELATED: Tips to Help You Sleep if You’re Stressed About COVID Cleveland Clinic researchers looked at a total of 1,914 patients from two hospitals with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a term used to describe a condition where blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked. A comparison was made between 258 patients with ACS who came in during the pandemic and four control groups of patients with ACS prior to the pandemic. The study revealed a significant increase in patients diagnosed with stress cardiomyopathy, at 7.8 percent between March 1 and April 30 compared with 1.7 percent prior to the pandemic, a four- to five-time increase. Patients with broken heart syndrome also had a longer hospital stay during the pandemic. “It’s important to know that none of the patients in our study actually had the COVID-19 virus. So this is not a consequence of the viral infection. This was a rise in the incidence of this problem during the pandemic time period,” says Dr. Reed. Ankur Kalra, MD, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist and lead author of the study, says that “the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about multiple levels of stress,” as many are dealing with economic, emotional, societal, and isolation issues simultaneously. RELATED: Women Are Overwhelmed and Exhausted From Coronavirus Life Adjustments
How to Treat Broken Heart Syndrome
While there is no preventive medication for cardiomyopathy, diagnosed patients are typically treated with drugs used for heart failure, such as beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, paired with recommendations for stress management. Experts emphasize that those with broken heart syndrome should prioritize a heart-healthy lifestyle. Edy Nathan, a therapist specializing in grief and trauma therapy who wasn’t involved in the study, suggests a number of ways to cope with the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic: staying in touch with friends and family, exercising, and confronting thoughts of loneliness and helplessness. As lockdowns continue across the nation, it can be difficult to deal with isolation, specifically for those who typically rely on the care of loved ones. This can result in individuals delaying medical attention. Experts urge patients not to neglect symptoms, especially those with chronic conditions. Cleveland Clinic researchers say patients with broken heart syndrome typically recover in a matter of days or weeks. However, it can occasionally result in severe cardiac and cerebrovascular events, which can be fatal. Researchers noted there were no differences in mortality rates during their study. As the pandemic is expected to continue much longer, cases of broken heart syndrome are expected to continue rising. While the study has limitations, being concentrated on small number of patients in northeast Ohio, Reed says researchers hope to continue this analysis and see if the trend is similar in different regions of the country. “So that is something which I think we’re going to see more of and we’re going to struggle with as the COVID pandemic goes on,” says Reed. “It’s going to have a profound effect on people’s health, not just because of the virus infecting people but because of all the effects the pandemic is going to have on society.”
