- This is a study that shows that late recovery from Takotsubo syndrome increases the risk of mortality in patients.
- This heart condition can simulate a heart attack due to physical or emotional stress, temporarily losing heart function.
- The study has been published in the prestigious cardiology journal Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC)
El Torrejón University Hospital, belonging to the public network of the Community of Madrid, has contributed significantly to the field of cardiology with its participation in a recent publication on Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) in the prestigious journalJournal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC)This heart condition, also known as 'broken heart syndrome', can mimic a heart attack due to physical or emotional stress, resulting in a temporary loss of heart function. The study, in which more than 30 hospitals nationwide participated, has shown how the late recovery of left ventricular function can impact the long-term health of patients.
“The fact that this pathology arises due to stress indicates that you have a certain degree of susceptibility in your cardiovascular system or that there is an underlying problem, because we all have stress, but not all of us have Takotsubo syndrome,” enter the Dr. Iván Núñez Gil, head of the Cardiology Department at the Torrejón University Hospital. In TTS or stress cardiomyopathy, the left ventricle experiences temporary dysfunction, preventing it from pumping efficiently. Therefore, the recovery of this left ventricular function is a key indicator that the heart is recovering.
However, thanks to this study it has been discovered that the time it takes to recover is an indicator of risk: “Previously, it was thought that if a patient survived Takotsubo syndrome, they would have fully recovered, but we have now discovered that those who take more than ten days to recover have a higher mortality rate, especially from non-cardiovascular causes.”, explains the doctor. In this way, researchers have been able to establish that a slower recovery entails a greater risk of complications and mortality in the future.
“The study shows very interesting results, because it gives us a clue as to how our patients will fare with this disease,” The head of the Cardiology Department at the Torrejón University Hospital said: "Given that approximately 25% of patients with TTS suffer a delayed recovery, this is a very important finding for identifying patients at risk and offering them appropriate follow-up and treatment." “In the short term, it has little impact, because the heart's power returns to normal, but the results obtained give us a more precise perspective on the evolution after a TTS and allow us to personalize the care of patients according to the time they have needed for their cardiac recovery,” Add.
The aforementioned study was carried out with data from an international registry of the disease (RETAKO), whose principal investigator is the Dr. Iván Núñez Gil, head of the Cardiology service at the Torrejón University Hospital, which has included patients with Takotsubo syndrome for more than ten years, analyzing different data on this peculiar disease and contributing to multiple publications in recent years.