Scientists make breakthrough in bid to find out why people die with ‘a broken heart’

Woman using a microscope
PA Wire

Scientists have made progress in understanding why some people may die from broken heart syndrome.

Suffering long term stress and then experiencing a stressful event - such as a family death - could trigger broken heart syndrome - medically known as a takotsubo syndrome.

The condition is characterised by weakening of the heart’s main pumping chamber and was first identified in 1990 in Japan, the Guardian reported.

But new research funded by the British Heart Foundation has found that two molecules linked to increased stress levels play a key role in the development of the syndrome.

Researchers from Imperial College London found that increased levels of microRNAs -16 and -26a, which are small molecules that regulate how genes are decoded, increased the chance of suffering the condition.

They assessed the impact of exposing cells from human hearts that were taken from organs that were unsuitable for transplants and rat hearts to the two molecules.

Dr Liam Couch from Imperial College London explained that researchers found “the exact same thing happens when we increase the exposure to the molecules [in an experimental setting].

“It reproduced exactly what happens in takotsubo, so it made it more likely for the takotsubo to occur.”

Symptoms of broken heart syndrome often mimic a heart attack and include chest pain and shortness of breath - it affects around 2,500 people in the UK each year, mainly post-menopausal women.

The researchers’ findings appeared to link long-term stress and the dramatic takotsubo response to a sudden shock, the Guardian reported.

Despite this new revelation, the issue that remains is being able diagnose the syndrome before it happens.

But Mr Crouch said: “But if we know someone’s had takotsubo, theoretically we can measure these molecules, and then predict if they’re likely to have it again, because there’s a one in five chance that they could have it again.”

Joel Rose, chief executive of the charity Cardiomyopathy UK, also praised the research and said the study provided important insights on a less well known and poorly understood form of cardiomyopathy.

He told the Guardian: “It has the potential to improve our understanding of who may be more susceptible to developing the condition and subsequent improve our ability to manage its impact.”

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