--- title: "\"Broken Heart Syndrome\" - Stress Cardiomyopathy | Sutter Health" description: "I've been through some bad loses this year (relationship, foreclosure) and have had chest pain and shortness of breath. My doctor said I had stress cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome). What are the other symptoms, is it dangerous, will I get it again?" url: "/ask-an-expert/answers/broken-heart-syndrome-stress-cardiomyopathy-1051061181" --- 1. Home / 2. "Broken Heart Syndrome" - Stress Cardiomyopathy # "Broken Heart Syndrome" - Stress Cardiomyopathy * * * Medically reviewed by - Junaid H. Khan, M.D., FACC, FACS ## Question I've been through some bad loses this year (relationship, foreclosure) and have had chest pain and shortness of breath. My doctor said I had stress cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome). What are the other symptoms, is it dangerous, will I get it again? ## Answer I am sorry for your losses. Cardiomyopathy can be a serious condition. In addition to chest pain and shortness of breath, patients can have dyspnea on exertion, fatigue, edema, and in some cases, hepatic or kidney problems. "Broken heart syndrome" is also know as takotsubo cardiomyopathy. It is usually related to a cardiac-specific hormone released during periods of stress. It usually is temporary and can revert back to normal once the stress causing the hormone release is alleviated. It is possible that it can recur if you are stressed again. There are several medications which can help with the situation. The key, now that you know the symptoms, is to seek immediate medical attention and work with your physician on a treatment regimen if extremely stressful conditions recur. ## Explore related topics Heart healthMental health ## Meet our care team Junaid H. Khan, M.D., FACC, FACS Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery Cardiothoracic Surgery ## Support for Your Heart Health Broken heart syndrome is real — and treatable. 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View all questions ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/broken-heart-syndrome-stress-cardiomyopathy-1051061181#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\"Broken Heart Syndrome\" - Stress Cardiomyopathy"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalWebPage","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/broken-heart-syndrome-stress-cardiomyopathy-1051061181#medicalwebpage","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/broken-heart-syndrome-stress-cardiomyopathy-1051061181","name":"\"Broken Heart Syndrome\" - Stress Cardiomyopathy","description":"I am sorry for your losses. Cardiomyopathy can be a serious condition.","inLanguage":"en-US","medicalAudience":{"@type":"MedicalAudience","audienceType":"Patient"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/broken-heart-syndrome-stress-cardiomyopathy-1051061181#breadcrumblist"},"mainEntity":{"@type":"Question","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/broken-heart-syndrome-stress-cardiomyopathy-1051061181#question","name":"\"Broken Heart Syndrome\" - Stress Cardiomyopathy","text":"I've been through some bad loses this year (relationship, foreclosure) and have had chest pain and shortness of breath. My doctor said I had stress cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome). What are the other symptoms, is it dangerous, will I get it again?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/broken-heart-syndrome-stress-cardiomyopathy-1051061181#answer","text":"I am sorry for your losses. Cardiomyopathy can be a serious condition. In addition to chest pain and shortness of breath, patients can have dyspnea on exertion, fatigue, edema, and in some cases, hepatic or kidney problems. \"Broken heart syndrome\" is also know as takotsubo cardiomyopathy. It is usually related to a cardiac-specific hormone released during periods of stress. It usually is temporary and can revert back to normal once the stress causing the hormone release is alleviated. It is possible that it can recur if you are stressed again. There are several medications which can help with the situation. 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