Israeli cardiologists warn of sharp rise of ‘broken heart’ syndrome during war
Israeli doctors warned of a wartime surge in “broken heart syndrome” at an international gathering of cardiologists in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
Beer-Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center on April 8, 2024. Photo by Ran Dahan/TPS
Broken heart syndrome, also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is a temporary heart condition that is often triggered by extreme emotional or physical stress. It is characterized by a sudden weakening of the heart’s left ventricle, the main pumping chamber.
This can lead to chest pain, shortness of breath, and sometimes an irregular heartbeat — symptoms similar to a heart attack.
“We saw a dramatic rise in the number of patients with the so-called ‘broken heart syndrome’ immediately after October 7,” Dr. Arthium Star told The Press Service of Israel. Star, who works at the Soroka Hospital in Beer-Sheva, explained, “It was something unusual. Typically we see one, maybe two patients in a month, and in the first month after October 7 we saw 13.”
Innovations in treating Takotsubo cardiomyopathy was one of the topics of the two-day conference.
“The patients were numerous, and we were impressed by the severity of their condition,” Prof. Moti Haim, head of Soroka’s cardiology department told TPS-IL. recalling the days immediately after October 7.
“A woman who spent many hours in her safe room, with terrorists inside her house, became unconscious while still in the safe room,” Haim recalled. He and his staff diagnosed her as having broken heart syndrome. “The severity of her condition was very troubling. It was a miracle she survived,” Haim noted.
The condition is generally temporary, and all of the patients survived, but Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is “the disease that kills,” Haim stressed. If untreated, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy can lead to irregular heart rhythm, blood clots, heart failure and death.
According to Soroka research which has not yet been peer-reviewed, exposure to war and other mass crises not only increases the incidence of TCM but also its severity.
The doctors then gathered data from other Israeli hospitals which confirmed similar surges.
