Men are more than twice as likely to die from broken heart syndrome than women, according to a new study.
Broken heart syndrome, also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is a sudden weakness in the heart brought on by an emotionally or physically stressful event, such as the death of a loved one, an accident or divorce.
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Research published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that broken heart syndrome was more common in women. But men had an 11.2% death rate from it, compared to 5.5% in women. More than 80% of the people hospitalized for the syndrome in the study were women.
"It seems to be a consistent finding that men don't get takotsubo syndrome as much, but when they do, they do worse," Dr. Harmony Reynolds, director of the Sarah Ross Soter Center for Women's Cardiovascular Research at NYU Langone Health, told NBC News. Reynolds was not involved in the study.
Hormonal differences between men and women may be an important factor in the death rates disparities, but the precise causes of broken heart syndrome remain unclear, the researchers said.
The death rate from broken heart syndrome remained steady during the period of the study, suggesting that current treatments are not enough, the researchers said. More research about why the syndrome affects men and women differently — and how to improve prevention and treatment — is needed, the researchers said.
With broken heart syndrome, a sudden release of stress hormones temporarily interrupts blood flow to and from the heart. The arteries are not blocked, unlike a heart attack where the heart artery is nearly or completely blocked, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Symptoms of broken heart syndrome are similar to a heart attack and may include severe chest pain, shortness of breath and a weakening of the left ventricle of the heart, according to the Cleveland Clinic.