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. 2021 Oct 26;10(21):4940.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10214940.

The Broken Heart: The Role of Life Events in Takotsubo Syndrome

Maria Casagrande  1 , Giuseppe Forte  2   3 , Francesca Favieri  2   3 , Francesca Agostini  2 , Jasmine Giovannoli  2 , Luca Arcari  4 , Ilaria Passaseo  5 , Raffaella Semeraro  4 , Giovanni Camastra  4 , Viviana Langher  1 , Mariella Pazzaglia  2   3 , Luca Cacciotti  4
Affiliations

The Broken Heart: The Role of Life Events in Takotsubo Syndrome

Maria Casagrande et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The onset of Takotsubo syndrome (TTS), also known as stress cardiomyopathy, is thought to be associated with some life events. This study focuses on clarifying life event characteristics and the role of triggers in the onset of TTS. Participants with TTS (n = 54) were compared to those with acute myocardial infarction (AMI; n = 52) and healthy individuals (n = 54). Using a modified version of the Interview for Recent Life Events, information about general life events perceived as stressful and triggers preceding the onset of a cardiac syndrome was collected. The assessment included the impact of these events as indicated by the participants and estimated by the interviewer; finally, the objective impact was considered. Although the number of events and the objective impact did not differ among the groups, patients with TTS reported a more negative perceived impact. Moreover, 61% of these patients objectively and subjectively reported a more stressful trigger before the onset of the disease (in the 24 h preceding the cardiac event) than those reported by patients with AMI. The dynamic between life events and individual responses could help differentiate TTS from other cardiovascular events, such as AMI. This study suggests that patients' perception of some life events (whether triggers or general life events) could represent a possible marker of TTS.

Keywords: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy; acute myocardial infarction; life events; stress; trigger.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean and Std. Err. of the Impact of Life Events reported by the three groups of participants (p refers to ANCOVA results). HG: Healthy Group; AMI: Acute Myocardial Infarction; TTS: Takotsubo Syndrome.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean and Std. Err. of the Trigger Impacts reported by the two groups of patients (p refers to ANCOVA results). AMI: Acute Myocardial Infarction; TTS: Takotsubo Syndrome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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