Stress from the coronavirus pandemic is heartbreaking.
A new Cleveland Clinic study led by an Akron General cardiologist discovered the number of cases of “broken heart syndrome,” or stress cardiomyopathy, doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study, conducted March 1 through April 30, appears in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.
Stress cardiomyopathy occurs in response to physical or emotional distress and causes dysfunction or failure in the heart muscle.
“It’s been associated with severe emotional stress, but it could be any type of stress like breakups, loss of a loved one, a heated altercation with a family member or severe depression,” said Ankur Kalra, an Akron General cardiologist who led the study.
“Is this the virus causing this, or is it the stress from the virus causing this?” he wondered.
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