Men are more likely to die of 'broken heart syndrome,' study says

After a traumatic event like a divorce or the death of a loved one, some people may experience chest pain and shortness of breath — the result of a heart condition known as “broken heart syndrome.”

After a traumatic event like a divorce or the death of a loved one, some people may experience chest pain and shortness of breath — the result of a condition known colloquially as “broken heart syndrome.”

The syndrome, which doctors formally call takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is thought to be triggered by physical or emotional stress, which releases bursts of stress hormones like adrenaline that prevent people’s hearts from contracting properly. Most patients recover quickly, but a small minority suffer heart failure. 

Although broken heart syndrome is most common in women, men die from it at more than twice the rate, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The study analyzed data from nearly 200,000 adults in the U.S. who were hospitalized with broken heart syndrome from 2016 to 2020. Around 11% of men in that group died, compared with roughly 5% of women. The data reinforce previous studies that showed higher mortality rates in men.

“It seems to be a consistent finding that men don’t get takotsubo syndrome as much, but when they do, they do worse,” said Dr. Harmony Reynolds, director of the Sarah Ross Soter Center for Women’s Cardiovascular Research at NYU Langone Health, who wasn’t involved in the study.