Heart murmurs can cause torn heart syndrome, also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or stress-induced cardiomyopathy. It is a disease of the heart muscle that can occur suddenly after severe emotional or physical stress. What are the causes of such an ailment, how does it appear, in what ways is it treated? This will be discussed in the article.
How disease occurs
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy can occur even in he althy people. Although temporary damage to the heart muscle with an average duration of 7 to 30 days, it can be severe enough to lead the patient to death.
In this article, we will explain what heart injury syndrome is, what are its causes, its symptoms, and what are the treatment options.
Which heart disease can cause murmurs
The heart is an organ made up mainly of muscles andblood vessels. What we call the work of the heart is simply a synchronized contraction of the myocardium. These are the muscles that make up the ventricles and atria of the heart.
Diseases of the myocardium, that is, diseases of the heart muscle, are called cardiomyopathies. Broken heart syndrome is one of several existing forms of cardiomyopathy (meaning cardiomyopathies of inflammatory origin, ischemic, hypertensive, food alcohol). They cause heart murmurs.
When illness occurs
When the heart has weak muscles, it loses its ability to pump blood properly, leading to a condition called heart failure. Therefore, a patient with cardiomyopathy has typical symptoms of a weak and insufficient heart and murmurs.
Case history
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which causes a heart murmur, was first described in 1990 in Japan. Since then, this form of cardiomyopathy has been increasingly recognized worldwide. Takotsubo is the name of a vessel used in Japan as a trap to capture the octopi. This form of cardiomyopathy was named Takotsubo because the patients left ventricle presented an enlarged format similar to a Japanese vessel.
Already named broken heart syndromes or stress myocardiopathy are due to the fact that the disease usually occurs after a strong emotional or physical exertion. The main causes of heart murmurs are explained below.
Why is it making noisein the heart
Heart syndrome is a disease that is more common in women and the elderly. About 90% of cases are female, and the average age of patients is 66 years.
Persons with a history of a neurological or psychiatric illness tend to be at higher risk of developing heart disease, but most patients with broken heart syndrome are people who have no prior serious illness.
Main causes of disease
The exact cause of "broken heart syndrome" is still not entirely clear. We also do not know why the disease predominantly affects postmenopausal women, and why the apex and central left ventricular heart muscle are the localities that are commonly affected. This cardiomyopathy is thought to be caused by the release of stress hormones, such as adrenaline, released during intense experiences.
The most accepted theory of what causes heart murmurs is that excess stress hormones can lead to diffuse and temporary narrowing of the arteries of the heart, causing ischemia of the heart muscle and a clinical picture similar to acute myocardial infarction.
Joyful events are also dangerous
The difference is that in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, the arteries of the heart are not covered with atherosclerotic plaques. When a patient undergoes cardiac catheterization (coronary angiography), there is no obstructive lesion in the coronary arteries.
Ripped Heart Syndrome is often preceded by intense physical oremotional event. These events don't have to be bad, an older woman can experience stress-induced cardiomyopathy knowing she's won millions on the lottery.
Sad events are the first cause of heart problems
Some known causes of adult heart murmurs that are symptomatic of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy:
- The news of the unexpected death of a loved one.
- Very sad news, such as a cancer diagnosis in a close relative.
- Domestic violence.
- Sudden and unexpected loss of a lot of money.
- Winning the lottery.
- Heated nervous discussion with someone.
- Rough party.
- Divorce.
- Loss of job.
- Car accident.
- Major financial transactions.
- Severe asthma attack.
It is important to note that while this is common, not all Takotsubo cardiomyopathies are directly related to a stressful event. In about one-third of patients, scientists have not been able to identify any factors that cause adult heart murmurs.
How the disease manifests
The clinical picture of broken heart syndrome is very similar to the symptoms of an acute myocardial infarction. Chest pain and shortness of breath are common symptoms of the two ailments.
Other common signs and symptoms are:
- hypotension;
- fainting;
- heart murmur;
- cardiac arrhythmia.
Almost 10% of patients develop cardiogenic shock, with severe hypotension, loss of consciousness and pulmonary edema. These are patients at high risk of mortality. As in patients with acute myocardial infarction, stress cardiomyopathy also often causes changes in echocardiography typical of coronary artery ischemia and changes in troponin value, which is currently shown by a blood test used to diagnose a heart attack.
Echocardiography helps identify areas of the left ventricle with poor contractility, a signal that is also commonly present in acute infarction. Lab tests tend to confirm the possibility of a heart attack, with most patients eventually undergoing emergency cardiac catheterization.
As already mentioned, the test shows that these patients do not show signs of coronary artery obstruction, excluding infarction as the cause of a functional heart murmur. It is at this time that the doctor begins to think about the stress myocardiopathy hypothesis.
How to treat the disease
There is no specific treatment for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. In general, treatment is only preventive, aimed at symptoms until the heart muscle has time to recover. This process usually takes 1 to 4 weeks.
In general, the drugs used are the same as for heart failure, especially diuretics and ACE inhibitors. Mortality in torn heart syndrome is low, less than 5%. The vast majority of patients can experience full recovery of heart function in a couple of weeks.
The fact that a person had a bout of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy after a stressful event does not mean that she will have a similar pattern again if he is exposed to new strong emotions. In most cases, "broken heart syndrome" is the only event in the patient's life.
When children have problems
When a mother hears from the doctor that her baby is having heart murmurs, she usually starts to worry about what they mean and how dangerous the symptoms are. To exclude serious diseases, you will need to pass some tests, which will be named by the doctor.
Why do children get sick
Heart murmurs in a child, the causes of which will be discussed below, are very dangerous if they are not diagnosed in a timely manner.
According to cardiologists, most children tend to have atypical heart sounds at different ages. This is not always a sign of the development of a pathological condition. The disappearance of symptoms may occur by itself. But these children should always be supervised by specialists.
Listening to the child, the doctor must assess the level of noise intensity, timbre, duration and location of this phenomenon. Analysis of heart murmurs in newborns and older children and the results of this process allow us to determine one of the causes of the phenomenon:
Falsh chord - false noise, in which the presence of abnormal chordspresent inside the cardiac ventricles. This condition is a deviation from the norm, it can affect the change in heart rate. But the presence of these structures is not dangerous due to the lack of influence on the intracardiac blood flow system. Many children manage to overcome this disease, the cardiovascular system tends to restore the circulatory system when the newborn adapts to the conditions of life outside the womb
Cause of inflammation of the heart
Another answer to the question of what heart murmurs mean is the cause of complications after infectious diseases that were not cured in a timely manner:
- tonsillitis or rheumatism;
- pneumonia or scarlet fever.
They tend to cause serious complications in the form of inflammatory processes in the heart structures.
Pathology from birth
Causes of congenital heart defects are very common with chest noise. This diagnosis can be established even for a baby in the mother's belly, while the fetus is in the stage of intrauterine development.
Associated Issues
The presence of a heart murmur may be accompanied by a child's conditions such as anemia or rickets. Most often, problems occur during the intensive growth of the baby. It is important to establish a diagnosis and prescribe treatment in a timely manner.
Features of diagnosing heart problems
Evaluation of the work of the heart is made by prescribing various diagnostic methods. During an ultrasound examination of a pregnant woman, the condition of the newborn is studiedall organs, including the heart.
Timely detection and diagnosis of violations of the structure or functioning of the heart can be ensured by such diagnostics:
- Echocardiography is a very informative procedure when the heart can be seen in three projections.
- Computed tomography or magnetic resonance - for the simultaneous assessment of the state of many organs and systems.
- Catheterization - if necessary to determine the pressure and oxygen level.
If there is a strange noise in the baby's heart, it is important to fully examine the baby. Sometimes serious treatment may be required, up to surgical intervention in a hospital setting.
Summarize
The occurrence of a heart murmur is an abnormal phenomenon. In no case should such a condition be ignored, as it can signal serious problems.
If the noise is diagnosed in a baby, both congenital heart problems and acquired diseases can appear. In the second case, the reason often lies in complications after infectious diseases. The solution to the problem ranges from drug treatment to surgery in a hospital setting.
