Washington [US], March 27 (ANI): According to the results of a new study, elevated brain activity, caused by stress events, is linked to the risk of developing a rare and sometimes fatal heart condition called Takotsubo syndrome ( TTS), also known as ‘broken heart’ syndrome.
The research, led by the European Society of Geology, was published in the European Heart Journal.
The study found that the greater the activity of neural cells in the amygdala area of the brain, the faster the condition known as Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) can develop. The researchers suggest that interventions to reduce this stress-related brain activity may help reduce the risk of developing TTS; these could include drug treatments or ways to reduce weight.
TTS, also known as “broken heart” syndrome, is characterized by a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscle that causes the left ventricle of the heart to balloon out at the base while the neck still narrow, forming a Japanese octopus snare-like shape, from which it gets its name.
Since this relatively rare condition was first described in 1990, evidence has suggested that it is usually triggered by events of severe emotional distress, such as sadness, anger or fear, or reactions to happy events. or blissful. Patients develop chest pain and shortness of breath, and can cause heart attack and death. TTS is more common in women with only 10% of cases occurring in men.
The amygdala is the part of the brain that controls emotions, motivation, learning and memory. It is also involved in the control of the autonomic nervous system and the regulation of cardiac function.
“The study suggests that the increased stress-related neurobiological activity in the amygdala, which is present years before TTS occurs, could play an important role in its development and could predict time. the presence of the syndrome.
It may be a prime choice for a person with a higher hypertension response that ends with TTS, “said Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, co-director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Study Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (Boston USA), which led the study.
“We also identified an important relationship between stress-related brain activity and bone marrow activity in these individuals. Together, the findings provide insight into mechanisms that may be contributing to the heart connection. -eanchan. ” In the first study that looked at brain scans using F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography / computed tomography (PET-CT) to assess brain activity before TTS developed, Dr. Tawakol and colleagues analyzed data on 104 people with an average age of 68 years, 72% of whom are women.
Patients underwent scans at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, USA) between 2005 and 2019. Most had the scans to see if they had cancer and the scans also assessed the activity of blood cells in bone marrow. The researchers matched 41 people who went on to develop TTS between six months and five years after the scan with 63 who did not. The interval between scans, TTn onset, follow-up or final death averaged 2.5 years for the 104 patients.
Dr Tawakol said: “Areas of the brain with higher metabolic activity tend to be more used. Therefore, higher activity in nappies is associated with stress in the brain suggesting a greater response. individual activator to weight.Also, higher activity in the bone marrow reveals increased bone marrow metabolism.The PET / CT scans produce images that show the circulation of glucose metabolism. The brain images thus produce a map of brain metabolic activity: the higher the values, the greater the activity in these brain regions. “The researchers found that amygdalar activity higher weight-related activity in people who went on to develop TTS (measured as the ratio of amygdalar activity to the activity of stress-resistant brain regions) compared to individuals who did not subsequently develop TTS. Further, the higher the amygdalar signal, the greater the risk of developing TTS. Among the 41 patients who developed TTS, the average time between scan and TTS was 0.9 months, whereas among the control group of 63 patients, the average time between scan and follow-up or last death was 2.9 year. ”It was notable among the 41 patients who developed TTS, the top 15% with the highest amygdalar activity developed TTS within a year of imaging, and those with the lowest TTS activity developed several years later, “said Dr. Tawakol.
He said future studies should investigate whether a reduction in stress-related brain activity could reduce the chances of recurrence of TTS among patients who have experienced TTS in the past.
“These findings add to evidence of the adverse biological effects of stress on the cardiovascular system. Findings such as these confirm the need for further study on the effects of weight reduction or inter- the advent of drugs targeting these brain regions on heart health.
In the meantime, when encountering a patient with severe breast pressure, clinicians may reasonably consider the possibility that weight reduction may bring benefits to the cardiovascular system. ” ‘understands well the process by which stress induces TTS but multiple organ mechanisms may begin with the activation of the brain’ s sensitive nappies.This brain activity then triggers a number of additional events , including the release of stress hormones, the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the release of inflammatory cells, all of which can contribute to the development of TTS.
The limitations of the study include that it was a single-center, retrospective study that included in the majority of patients with cancer, a known TTS risk factor, which may limit the generality of decisions.
The researchers were unable to quantify immediate changes in brain activity in response to a stress event that led to TTS and therefore cannot reveal a causal relationship. And they were unable to measure changes in activity in other areas of the brain, which may also participate.
TTS affects less than 3% of people who suffer a heart attack and are likely to occur between the ages of 60-75. (ANI)