Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy - The Latest Edition

 

Illustration of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (picture A) compared to the a normal heart (picture B).

 

For me, this kind of new encounter of cardiomyopathy.  I really have never heard or even learn it before, until lately i found it from the web.  Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (TCM) is a cardiomyopathy caused by stress, broken heart, and also known as an apical ballooning syndrome.  It is reversible and not permanent condition, when suddenly your heart muscle become weak or stunned, and the left ventricle changes shape.   

The first attack was reported in Japan, which the meaning of "Takotsubo" is "Octopus Pot", as the left ventricle of the heart chamber, getting bigger - developing a narrow neck and a round bottom.  Once has reported, that this kind of CHF affects more than 2,400 people a year in England.

The Symptoms and how to Diagnose 

Chest pain and breathlessness are the main symptoms.  Remember what i mentioned in my previous blog or page, Electro Cardio Grams and Blood test is only a standard test that perhaps don't show you any sign of CHF or other heart disease at the beginning.   But in this case, even the Echo Cardio Grams or MRI would be less effective to detect TCM anyway.  It will be well detected with angiogram test (catheterization procedure).  If you have TCM, the angiogram won't find any blockage in your coronary blood vessel, but it will show that your left ventricle has change shape.  Same with what i had been experienced before, no blockades of fat or cholesterol (yet) - after catheterization, but my left ventricle was getting bigger than normal.  But mine, is not called TCM because of my diabetes precondition, and also irreversible as the doctor said. 

The Cause

About three quarters of people diagnosed with TCM have experienced significant emotional or physical stress prior to becoming unwell. Me too, even after my first diagnose of DCM, my condition was getting worse and I had experienced 11 months 24/7 barely sleep in the night. Only 2-3 hour sleep made my body over-exhausted because every time I tried to sleep, i feel my heart and breath stop, so like avoiding nightmare in elm street, I force my body not to fall asleep even i wanted it so badly.  In climax, I lost consciousness and suddenly sleep and awake in several hours, to get to work. My body clock was a ruin in 11 months.   

Some examples include bereavement, major surgery or being involved in a disaster such as an earthquake and there is some evidence that the excessive release of hormones, in particular adrenaline, during these periods of stress causes the stunning of the heart muscle.

The good news is that the condition is temporary and reversible – and it’s unusual for it happen again. This make a huge different from what i have been suffering right now.  Another good news is TCM cannot be inherited like other types of cardiomyopathy.