Heart Attack or Broken Heart Syndrome
PART TWO OF: ISSUES OF THE HEART
Trying to find a cause to my wife's recent incident (Thursday Jan.7) with her heart and not being convinced by the Dr of Cardiology at our hospital, my step daughter decided to do some research of her own and we found some interesting facts, that may lead us to a more convincing explanation.
Dr's, no matter where you are on this planet will only go with what they know, and will basically give you an interpretation rounded down to the best case scenario. They usually lump you in with the majority and treat the illness with a barrage of medications or treatments and unless you press them for something more you are left with what they give you. A lot of times you may have a Dr who is not keen on your investigation because he wants you to trust his "judgement" and his "assessment" of you and not you. What do you know...it's only your body, right? Not according to them.
Presently in Canada we have a patient to Dr ratio that is overwhelming. So that means you have little time for them to have any real interest in you. You are lucky if you can get their attention for 60 seconds, because after 10 seconds of your conversation he has turned you off and gone down the rabbit trail of wherever and comes back at you with, "have this test or take this drug, make a new appointment in 2 weeks and lets go from there." They all have either a 14 or 30 day rule, and you are at their mercy. Do they have a clue as to what medicine or treatment will work for you? No, it's all trial and error. Ever have a mechanic like that? The replacement of a $10 part has just cost you $300.
With any Dr, you could be dead within the month, due to a reaction to the drug or a worsened condition. That's no problem for them, because there is a long line waiting to take your place and you are quickly forgotten.
You come back through their turnstile, punch your medical card at the desk, take a seat in the crammed room of wall to wall people all waiting for the same time slot you have, read a magazine that is at least 4 years old and half worn out, listen to somebody grunting, or coughing, or complaining. If there is a TV, it's preset to CNN with no sound and so you look about the room where all stare blankly at the screen with a look of sheer panic on their faces. If we are fortunate enough to get in and out within 2 hours we say we're blessed.
Here's some brief info, just google: broken heart syndrome.
Broken Heart Syndrome is the nickname for Stress Cardiomyopathy also known as Tokatsubo Cardiomyopathy.
"Researchers at John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore have found that emotional trauma can result in the release of hormones that can "stun" the heart, mimicking the symptoms of a heart attack. Stress cardiomyopathy or "broken heart syndrome", has been observed primarily among women who have undergone extreme stress such as the death of a loved one or a car accident."
The above brief article was taken from: www.ynhh.org/healthlink/cardiac
This syndrome affects women over 50 who are postmenopausal and have no history of heart disease.
See also: www.mayoclinic.com (broken heart syndrome in search field)
It was first discovered by Dr's in Japan in 1991. Those who experience the sympoms of this syndrome have chest pain, shortness of breath, fluid in the lungs and heart failure. the heart's ability to pump is severely impaired, but the heart tissue itself is not damaged as in a heart attack. They recovered quickly from their attacks, which had been preceded by intense emotional events. (Dr. Hunter Champion, and IIan Wittstein, John Hopkins Hospital)
See also: www.ccnonline.org
A Clinical Article for Critical Care Nurses: www.ccn.aacnjournals.org
We will resume our personal research and confront the Dr in a months time. Part of the problem with this syndrome is the tests necessary should to be done at the exact time of the occurrance, because the heart recharges itself so quickly shortly after the events. The heart attack happened on Thursday, early AM and by Monday the echocardiogram showed no damage to the heart! Go figure!
