You probably don't have to worry about this problem post stroke since I'm 100% positive your doctor has NO happiness stroke protocols for you to follow. Don't read my 31 posts on happiness.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=161568&CultureCode=en
Happy events can trigger a heart condition known as takotsubo
syndrome, according to research published today (Thursday) in the
European Heart Journal.
Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is known as “broken heart syndrome” and is
characterised by a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscles that
causes the left ventricle of the heart to balloon out at the bottom
while the neck remains narrow, creating a shape resembling a Japanese
octopus trap, from which it gets its name. Since this relatively rare
condition was first described in 1990, evidence has suggested that it is
typically triggered by episodes of severe emotional distress, such as
grief, anger or fear, with patients developing chest pains and
breathlessness. It can lead to heart attacks and death.
Now, for the first time, researchers have systematically analysed
data from the largest group of patients diagnosed with TTS worldwide,
and found that some patients have developed the condition after a happy
or joyful event; they have named it “happy heart syndrome”.
In 2011, Dr Christian Templin, principle investigator and consultant
cardiologist, together with Dr Jelena Ghadri, resident cardiologist,
established the first International Takotsubo Registry
(www.takotsubo-registry.com) at the University Hospital Zurich in
Switzerland. For this study they have analysed data from the first 1750
patients registered from the 25 collaborating centres in nine different
countries [1].
They found 485 patients where there was a definite emotional trigger.
Of these, 20 (4%) had TTS that had been precipitated by happy and
joyful events, such as a birthday party, wedding, surprise farewell
celebration, a favourite rugby team winning a game, or the birth of a
grandchild; 465 (96%) had occurred after sad and stressful events, such
as death of a spouse, child or parent, attending a funeral, an accident,
worry about illness, or relationship problems; one occurred after an
obese patient got stuck in the bath.
Ninety-five percent of the patients were women in both the “broken
hearts” and “happy hearts” groups, and the average age of patients was
65 among the “broken hearts” and 71 among the “happy hearts”, confirming
that the majority of TTS cases occur in post-menopausal women.
Dr Ghadri said the new findings should lead to a paradigm shift in
clinical practice. “We have shown that the triggers for TTS can be more
varied than previously thought. A TTS patient is no longer the classic
“broken hearted” patient, and the disease can be preceded by positive
emotions too. Clinicians should be aware of this and also consider that
patients who arrive in the emergency department with signs of heart
attacks, such as chest pain and breathlessness, but after a happy event
or emotion, could be suffering from TTS just as much as a similar
patient presenting after a negative emotional event. Our findings
broaden the clinical spectrum of TTS. They also suggest that happy and
sad life events may share similar emotional pathways that can ultimately
cause TTS.”
The researchers found that “happy heart” patients were more likely to
have hearts that had ballooned in the mid-ventricle than “broken heart”
patients (35% versus 16%). Although this is a new and interesting
finding, the small number of patients in this group means that more
research needs to be conducted in order to discover whether or not it
sheds any light on the mechanisms involved in TTS.
Dr Templin said further research was needed to understand the exact
mechanisms underlying both the “broken” and “happy” heart variants of
TTS. “We believe that TTS is a classic example of an intertwined
feedback mechanism, involving the psychological and/or physical stimuli,
the brain and the cardiovascular system. Perhaps both happy and sad
life events, while inherently distinct, share final common pathways in
the central nervous system output, which ultimately lead to TCS.”
The researchers are working to understand further the relationship
between the heart and the brain; they are using functional MRI to look
at the workings of parts of the brain known to be involved in the
processing of emotions, reactions, behaviour, decision-making and
memory, such as the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex.
Notes:
[1] The nine countries are Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, UK and USA.
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