The Journal of Invasive Cardiology recently published the results of a two-year study of over 400 heart attack patients at Marin General Hospital for ‘broken heart syndrome.’ The physicians and nurses at Cardiology Associates of Marin and MGH conducted the study and found that 32 of patients, ­ mostly young women, suffered a heart attack, but had healthy coronary arteries. All survived.

“One in five women with a classic heart attack had normal coronary arteries. This is a huge unexpected number,” said Dr. Brian Strunk, a cardiologist and the lead study investigator. “Fifty-percent of these heart attacks followed a profoundly stressful event, which is why it is sometimes called the ‘broken heart syndrome. One woman witnessed a jogger struck by an automobile. Another woke up in bed to find her husband dead beside her. One man got fired from his job.”

Strunk said that heart attacks are usually caused by a blockage ­ either a bloodclot or cholesterol build-up in the arteries. None of the broken heart syndrome cases had any significant blockage of their coronary arteries.
Possible causes include stress-induced spasm of the coronary arteries or an adrenalin rush that attacks the heart, according to Strunk.

“We've discovered a disproportionate amount of these broken heart syndrome cases in Marin compared to the rest of the country and we're not certain why this is the case. Stress may very well be the prominent factor, which would be ironic given the emphasis Marinites place on stress reduction and healthy living. This finding is reminiscent of the unexplained high incidence of breast cancer in Marin,” he said.

This study was conducted between 2002 and 2004 and is the first of its kind at a community hospital, according to Strunk.

August 9, 2006