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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffIf your doctor suspects you have broken heart syndrome, he or she will use these exams and tests to make a diagnosis:
- Personal history and physical exam. In addition to a standard physical exam, your doctor will want to know about your medical history, especially whether you've ever had heart disease symptoms. People who have broken heart syndrome typically don't have any heart disease symptoms before they're diagnosed with broken heart syndrome. Also, your doctor will want to know if you've experienced any major stresses recently, such as the death of a loved one.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG). In this noninvasive test, a technician will place probes on your chest that record the electrical impulses that make your heart beat. An ECG records these electrical signals and can help your doctor detect irregularities in your heart's rhythm and structure.
- Chest X-ray. Your doctor will likely order a chest X-ray of your heart to see if your heart is enlarged or has the shape that's typical of broken heart syndrome.
- Echocardiogram. Your doctor may also order an echocardiogram to see if your heart is enlarged or has an abnormal shape, a symptom of broken heart syndrome. This noninvasive exam, which includes an ultrasound of your chest, shows detailed images of your heart's structure and function. Ultrasound waves are transmitted, and their echoes are recorded with a device called a transducer that's held outside your body. A computer uses the information from the transducer to create moving images on a video monitor.
- Blood tests. Most people who have broken heart syndrome have an increased amount of certain enzymes in their blood. Your doctor may order blood tests to check for these enzymes to help diagnose broken heart syndrome.
References
- Reeder GS. Stress-induced (takotsubo) cardiomyopathy. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Jan. 12, 2009.
- Wittstein IS, et al. Neurohumoral features of myocardial stunning due to sudden emotional stress. New England Journal of Medicine. 2005;352:539.
- Wittstein IS. The broken heart syndrome. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2007;7:S17.
- Gianni M, et al. Apical ballooning syndrome or takotsubo cardiomyopathy: A systematic review. European Heart Journal. 2006;27:1523.
- Merli E, et al. Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy: New insights into the possible underlying pathophysiology. European Journal of Echocardiography. 2006;7:53.
- Prasad A (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Rochester, Minn. Jan. 19, 2009.
