Broken Heart Syndrome Linked to the Brain

A chronically stressed amygdala can prime the heart to overreact to acute stress events, a new study shows.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 4 min read

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ABOVE: Takotsubo syndrome is so named because it causes the heart’s left ventricle to weaken (left) so that the organ assumes a shape reminiscent of the Tako-Tsubo pot used in Japan to catch octopuses (right).
EUR HEART J, DOI:10.1093/EURHEARTJ/EHAB029, 2021; THE SCIENTIST STAFF

The paper
A. Radfar et al., “Stress-associated neurobiological activity associates with the risk for and timing of subsequent Takotsubo syndrome,” Eur Heart J, ehab029, 2021

Takotsubo syndrome, also known as broken heart syndrome, is a rare, reversible condition with symptoms mimicking a mild heart attack. A disease that disproportionately affects women, TTS is triggered by stressful events such as bankruptcy, the death of a loved one, or divorce, and results in a weakening of the heart’s left ventricle such that it becomes temporarily misshapen.

Previous work has shown that TTS patients have elevated activity in their amygdala, a brain region involved in stress response. What has never been ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
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Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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