A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association reveals that men are over twice as likely to die from takotsubo cardiomyopathy, commonly known as "broken heart syndrome", compared to women. Analysing data from nearly 200,000 US hospital patients diagnosed between 2016 and 2020, researchers found that while women comprised 83% of cases, the mortality rate among men was significantly higher at 11.2%, compared to 5.5% in women.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a temporary heart condition often triggered by intense emotional or physical stress, leading to symptoms that mimic a heart attack, such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Despite its reversibility in many cases, the condition can result in severe complications, including congestive heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and stroke.
Experts suggest that the higher fatality rate in men may be due to differences in stress response and lower levels of social support, which can impact recovery. The study underscores the need for increased awareness and tailored treatment strategies to address this gender disparity in outcomes.
"We were surprised to find that the death rate from Takotsubo cardiomyopathy was relatively high without significant changes over the five-year study, and the rate of in-hospital complications also was elevated," said study author M. Reza Movahed, MD, PhD, an interventional cardiologist and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, Arizona. "The continued high death rate is alarming, suggesting that more research be done for better treatment and finding new therapeutic approaches to this condition."
As per the news release the analysis found:
- The death rate was considered high at 6.5%, with no improvement over period.
- Deaths were more than double in men at 11.2% compared to the rate of 5.5% among women.
- Major complications included congestive heart failure (35.9%), atrial fibrillation (20.7%), cardiogenic shock (6.6%), stroke (5.3%) and cardiac arrest (3.4%).
- People older than age 61 had the highest incidence rates of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. However, there was a 2.6 to 3.25 times higher incidence of this condition among adults ages 46-60 compared to those ages 31-45 during the study period.
- White adults had the highest rate of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (0.16%), followed by Native American adults (0.13%) and Black adults (0.07%).
- In addition, socioeconomic factors, including median household income, hospital size and health insurance status, varied significantly.
