Broken Heart Syndrome | 5 Amazing Tips to handle it.

Does Love hurt us enough to cause physical damage? This is a question that came to my mind last night when I had some silly fight with my husband that had taken some nasty turn as he said something that gave me a sudden severe pain. I found myself losing my breath and there were some irregular heartbeats that I was not able to control. I realized that broken heart syndrome is actually real.

Broken Heart Syndrome

Your heart is not just a mere mechanical pumping machine that functions to just pump the blood. It is very much influenced by emotions, feelings, passions, fantasies, connections, and interactions with other people. The pain in passion or love has physical effects on our body, not just the mind and emotions. Like when you get excited or passionate you find your heart is beating fast.

What is Broken Heart Syndrome?

Broken heart syndrome is a severe stress syndrome that doctors often call cardiomyopathy when a part of your heart known as left ventricle gets weakened for a temporary phase and as a result, it stops pumping the blood well.

Well, I am not an expert in biology, however, whatever knowledge I could grasp reading books and articles I could decipher that in case of broken heart syndrome the coronary arteries that are responsible to feed oxygen to the heart muscles experience a kind of spasm. This causes chest pain. Your heart gets an irregular flow of blood, as a result, it temporarily becomes enlarged.

Broken heart syndrome should not be taken lightly as it gives the same kind of feeling as if you are getting a heart attack. It is always a good idea to be alert and take necessary steps and actions and it is a time that we all know more about broken heart syndrome and 6 prominent signs that you should never ignore.

6 Signs of Broken Heart Syndrome

Broken Heart Syndrome- 6 signs you should never ignore!

#1. Angina (sudden & severe chest pain) 

One very prominent sign of a broken heart syndrome is sudden severe pain in the chest It is that stabbing pain that you feel absolutely impossible to bear.

#2. Shortness of breath

You tend to lose your breath and feel to gasp for air desperately. You may also find it very difficult to talk and express yourself at that point in time.

#3. Arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) 

This is a very common symptom of Broken Heart Syndrome when you experience a sudden irregular beating of heartbeats. Last time when I had this syndrome I felt as if my heart would kind of explode out of my chest and it was uncontrollable.

#4. Fainting 

Some people experience a dizzy feeling or even fainting when they get broken heart syndrome. Feeling sudden dizziness and lightheaded is a common stress symptom as well. You feel that you are walking on water or boat. Actually, this happens due to the poor circulation of oxygen.

#5. Low blood pressure 

There is a high chance that your blood pressure could become very low as a result of severe stress and trauma.

#6. Nausea & Sweating 

Nausea is often a symptom of elevated stress. Since Broken Heart Syndrome is an acute stress condition you might experience a feeling of vomiting as well as severe sweating.

Medical Diagnosis

Well, there are 6 kinds of medical diagnostic tests that can be conducted to test the severity of damage for Broken Heart Syndrome. Make sure that you go through these tests with the consultation of a doctor.

Medical Diagnosis to test Broken Heart Syndrome

The diagnostic tests are as follows:

#1. Electrocardiogram 

This is commonly known as ECG where a doctor would check the rhythm of your irregular heartbeat to test if it is a heart attack or broken heart syndrome.

ECG test for Broken Heart Syndrome

#2. Blood tests 

Your doctor may get your blood tested which might show the damage of your heart. (Don’t ask me how as I have an idea how it could be related but it is true)

#3. Coronary Angiogram 

This test actually checks damage of your coronary arteries and blockage if any. A dye is injected in your chest to check for blockage and other coronary diseases.

Broken Heart Syndrome diagnosis

#4. Echocardiogram

This tests if your heart has been enlarged or have some irregular shape. It is an ultrasound only. (Don’t Worry)

#5. Radio Nuclide Perfusion

This is a similar test like Echocardiogram which helps the doctors to understand which area in your heart is affected with damage if any.

#6. X-Ray 

It helps your doctor to check if there is an enlarged heart or lungs which is causing the problem to you.

How to handle Broken Heart Syndrome?

5 Amazing tips to handle Broken Heart Syndrome

So you had a broken Heart Syndrome and you had tried enough with medicines and treatments to curtail it and you seem to be absolutely unsuccessful in achieving your target. Here are some great alternatives.

5 Amazing tips to handle Broken Heart Syndrome

#1. Drink Coffee

Strange but true. Recent researches in American Research centers have revealed a phenomenal connection between drinking coffee and reducing the risk of heart attack. So it is a really good news for coffee lovers like me!

A coffee a day keeps Heart Attack at bay?

It was evident in the study that people who drink coffee regularly have a lower rate of heart attacks and failures than others who are not regular. However, it is to be noted that it is nowhere mentioned that drinking more coffee would reduce heart attack. (That is an overstatement!)

#2. Exercise

Physical exercise is a great way to combat stress and anxiety including Broken Heart syndrome. Regular exercise improves proper blood circulation in the body and strengthens your muscles. The cardio exercise really helps to maintain a good heart rate strengthening your muscles and body to get the perfect shape and figure which comes as an add-on bonus.

Exercise to heal a broken heart

Also, read: My Favourite me-time indulgence for more ideas for mental and physical good health.

So if you feel that you are prone to a broken heart; start working out with your body which will never cheat on you. It always pays well when you take good care of your health. Yoga is yet another technique of improving mind and body connection and health. Simple Yoga techniques help to maintain proper mental and physical health.

Also read: 4 basic Yoga Poses for beginners in the article on Autism and yoga.

#3. Listen to Music

While a Heart attack is caused due to heart blockage, broken heart syndrome is caused due to a sudden rush in adrenaline flow in the heart that temporarily suspends the flow of blood. This has a more mental and emotional connection.

Music heals broken heart syndrome

Music works wonders on our minds and body. Music is passion and it gives a lot of soothing and relaxing feeling to our mind and body. While our choices for music might vary, we should choose the type of music that we usually enjoy and keep them within reach.

#4. Talk to a friend or Hug a Tree

Sometimes talking things out actually relieved you from internal damage including Broken Heart Syndrome. If you have a close friend or a confidant that you can trust, make sure to reach out to him or her and just pour that garbage out from your system and flush it out to get immediate relief.

Talk to a friend or Hug a Tree

However, finding a trusted friend is rarer than finding a hen’s teeth. More often that friend whom you had trusted a lot betrays you and becomes a cause for your broken heart syndrome. In that case, go and hug a tree! Funny might it sounds but simply hugging a tree and talking your heart out also helps to get your emotions out. It is not madness. It is a process through which you can vent out your pains. You simply can’t walk out to a stranger to speak your mind! Can you?

#5. Breaking stuff/breakroom

If yoga does not help nor does exercise or medicines work well to reduce your stress, pain, and anger of having your heart Broken then perhaps this technique is best for you. It is called a break room or stress room the ultimate stress relief for broken heart syndrome.

There are times when all we want is to punch some faces or break some plates or glasses but our sobriety and mannerisms restrict us from such animal instincts.

Break some glasses instead of bones

Honestly, sometimes it feels really good to be nasty and bad as I get tired of being sugar candy to people who just blow me up and I burn with anger. All I want then is to try my kickboxing strokes or simply give a nice punch on the face.

So for those people who are like me anger room is a relief. It is a place where you can simply vent out all your controlled emotions and bad feelings in a controlled safe environment.

Anger room or rage room today has become very popular as people need a space where they can blow off some steam and get their heat out. So it is no more a chill pill or cool dude this time. It is time to get that anger, frustration, and stress out.

This service was first started in Dallas by Donna Alexander way back in 2011 and by 2018 it became very popular all over the U.S. Today even in India we have a safe anger room called Breakroom.

Many people are of opinion that instead of breaking stuff to fight out stress and anger and do away with broken heart syndrome why don’t we do something meaningful and constructive. To them, all I can say is that sometimes we get so mad at someone or something which could be a broken relationship or your boss giving you a hard time, all you need to do is to just punch some faces and let your animal instinct rule. No sing-song or lullaby talks can soothe you. Moreover, it is actually constructive to break some wine glasses rather than some bones!

Also read: My top 10 Strange health and Beauty Tips for more strange health and fitness tips.

So, if you have enjoyed and learned something new in this article, do share your thoughts as feedback. I will be waiting.

Keep Loving & Keep Sharing

Cheers,

Happy Parenting!

Sources:

• Jenab, Y., Taher, M., & Shirzad, S. (2012). Broken Heart Syndrome: A Case Report. The Journal of Tehran University Heart Center, 7(3), 136–139.
• Prasad A, Lerman A, Rihal C. Apical ballooning syndrome (Takotsubo or stress cardiomyopathy): a mimic of acute myocardial infarction. Am Heart J. 2008;155:408–413. [PubMed]
• Akashi Y, Goldstein D, Barbaro G, Ueyama T. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: a new form of acute, reversible heart failure. Circulation. 2008;118:2754–2759. [PMC free article] [PubMed]