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er says he and his colleagues are seeing more of it at Danbury Hospital — probably because they know what it is. It wasn’t until around 1995 that doctors in the United States started to recognize and label it, he says. Takotsubo is similar to stress-induced cardiomyopathy, which is caused by major stress such as the death of a loved one, financial problems, a car accident or major illness. How does stress lead to heart-attack-like conditions? Doctors don’t know for sure, but “people studying it posit that it might have to do with adrenaline, what we call catecholamines,” says Kramer. “When the body discharges a ton of them, it causes the blood vessels to constrict.” People suffering from takotsubo disease have two to three times higher catecholamine levels than those having a real major heart attack. “Adrenaline is what makes the heart be stunned and feel pain,” says Roca. “People truDoctors have ly feel a pain in their heart.” Heartbreak doesn’t send discovered a most people to the hospital. Yet recovery can be a slow process. We often take comfort in friends and family, but some call they can grow impatient. “After a while, people don’t want to hear it,” says La Saulle, “They say, ‘It’s been 3 months, oh, get over it.’” Healing a Broken Heart is designed to “help comfort people, to ease the suffering” by helping them process the loss, she says. “The reason Sharon Kagan and I wrote it like a journal is that people get into an obsessive state and can get into a repetitive way of thinking. This is a way to process it without going into those patterns.” Roca uses biofeedback to help patients see the connection between their hearts and minds. “I look to find other experiences to replace or dampen down” those unhealthy thought patterns, he says. “People get stuck in a pattern of hyper-arousal. They have trouble sleeping. Their minds continue to wander and perseverate.” (Perseverate means repeating or prolonging something that was done, thought or said long after the prompting stimulus ends.) The largest challenge is that the broken-hearted continue to perceive things that cause stress as life-threatening. Roca urges his patients to “check in for a reality check.” Where are these feelings coming from? What is, in fact, actually happening? Usually, the stressor is not lifethreatening. It’s not easy to change, but “Over time, one learns to do it,” Roca says. We have to. A broken heart is life-threatening. But, notes La Saulle: “You can get over it.” HL
Photo: Hearts, PhotoAlto/Ale Ventura/GettyImages; Sad woman, Jamie Grill/GettyImages.
new disease
broken-heart syndrome.
The Glenholme School combines a traditional boarding school experience and a therapeutic atmosphere complemented by a positive motivational program, devoted to young people who struggle with Asperger’s, depression, anxiety, and various learning differences. The school offers challenging extracurricular courses to instruct students to achieve competence, socially and academically. With an education based in strong character values, the graduates of Glenholme matriculate to colleges and universities and go on to meaningful careers. Enrollment is open for Glenholme’s middle school and high school, and post-secondary and summer programs. Contact the Glenholme Admissions Office Phone: (860) 868-7377 • Fax: (860) 868-7413 admissions@theglenholmeschool.org 81 Sabbaday Lane, Washington, CT 06793 www.theglenholmeschool.org Devereux Connecticut