Diagnosis
How We Can Help You
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (or broken heart syndrome) is a sudden, temporary heart condition that can cause symptoms like those of a heart attack, such as chest pain and shortness of breath. An electrocardiogram (EKG) may even confirm signs of heart attack. However, an angiogram (X-ray of the blood vessels) shows no blockage or constriction, like in a heart attack. Instead, the heart’s main pumping chamber (left ventricle) is weakened.
We have the knowledge, experience, and advanced tools to correctly diagnose and treat this rare condition. Ninety percent of the people with takotsubo cardiomyopathy are women. At our Women’s Heart Health Clinic, we help women heal while avoiding complications and long-term damage. With the right treatment plan, most people make a full recovery.
What We Offer You For Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy
- Nationally recognized expertise in successfully treating this hard-to-detect heart condition and others, such as SCAD, that affect mostly women.
- Precise diagnostic options that can differentiate takotsubo cardiomyopathy from a heart attack, so you can receive the right treatment quickly.
- Team-based treatment that brings together specialists from interventional cardiology, heart failure, imaging, and behavioral medicine to tailor your care.
- Advanced treatment options, including medications, ventricular assist devices, and careful monitoring to help you recover.
- Robust support services with specialists who can help you overcome anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder after an acute heart event.
- Comprehensive lifestyle modification program with mindfulness-based stress reduction classes to help you control stress levels to prevent recurrence.
Treatment for Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy
At some medical centers, takotsubo cardiomyopathy may be misdiagnosed. At Stanford, we take extra steps to differentiate between takotsubo cardiomyopathy and other forms of heart disease, so you can begin the correct treatment as swiftly as possible, and understand what the future holds.
After your diagnosis, your care team determines your personalized treatment plan. In general, a person can recover from takotsubo cardiomyopathy within one week to two months, but may need to receive advanced therapies and stay in the hospital under supervision until the heart heals.
Your treatment may require one or more of the following approaches:
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe a drug or a combination of medications to help return your heart to its normal function. Medications may help relax blood vessels, slow the heart rate, or regulate an irregular heart thythm.
Stanford has the knowledge, experience, and technology to diagnose and treat takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a rare, sometimes overlooked condition.
Intra-aortic balloon pump
If medications are not enough to control your condition, your doctor may recommend an intra-aortic balloon pump. We implant this device using a minimally invasive procedure. An interventional cardiologist uses a thin wire to guide a special balloon pump through the aorta (the body’s largest artery). The inserted pump helps the heart push blood more effectively to the body.
Ventricular assist device (VAD)
In rare cases, severe takotsubo cardiomyopathy may lead to significant heart failure and require a more advanced intervention such as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).This mechanical pump helps the heart function and maintains blood flow. Stanford surgeons are internationally recognized for their expertise in this treatment, much of which was pioneered here at Stanford.
High stress is linked to takotsubo cardiomyopathy. In fact, the condition is sometimes called “stress-induced cardiomyopathy.” Most people do not have a recurrence of the condition, but it can happen. After you recover, the behavioral psychologists in our Cardiac Behavioral Medicine Program can teach you healthy ways to handle stress, as well as mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques to help prevent recurrence.
Comprehensive support services
Dealing with broken heart syndrome can be a frightening experience, and some people develop depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In conjunction with your follow-up cardiology visits, our Cardiac Behavioral Medicine Program offers one-on-one counseling and support groups.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials evaluate new medical approaches, devices, drugs, and other treatments. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may be eligible to participate in open clinical trials.
Open trials refer to studies currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants in the near future. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but similar studies may open in the future.
To learn more about the clinical trials we offer, contact CT CONTACT NAME and Phone NUMBER
What is Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy?
Our Clinics
We provide exceptional heart care that starts with the understanding that women’s bodies have different health needs. We treat the whole woman, using evidence-based approaches to prevent and treat heart disease.
2nd Floor, Room A260
Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-725-5909 Getting Here
RELATED CLINICS
To schedule an appointment, please call: 888-888-8888