Question: How to diagnose Broken Heart Syndrome ?
Answer: Because the symptoms are similar, at first your doctor may not be able to tell whether you are experiencing broken heart syndrome or having a heart attack. Therefore, the doctors immediate goals will be:
To determine whats causing your symptoms
To determine whether youre having or about to have a heart attack
Your doctor will diagnose broken heart syndrome based on your signs and symptoms, your medical and family histories, and the results from tests and procedures.
Specialists Involved
Your doctor may refer you to a cardiologist. A cardiologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating heart diseases and conditions.
Physical Exam and Medical History
Your doctor will do a physical exam and ask you to describe your symptoms. He or she may ask questions such as when your symptoms began, where you are feeling pain or discomfort and what it feels like, and whether the pain is constant or varies.
To learn about your medical history, your doctor may ask about your overall health, risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) and other heart disease, and family history. Your doctor will ask whether you've recently experienced any major stresses.
Diagnostic Tests and Procedures
No single test can diagnose broken heart syndrome. The tests and procedures for broken heart syndrome are similar to those used to diagnose CHD or heart attack. The diagnosis is made based on the results of the following standards tests to rule out heart attack and imaging studies to help establish broken heart syndrome.
Standard Tests and Procedures
EKG (Electrocardiogram)
AnEKGis a simple, painless test that detects and records the hearts electrical activity. The test shows how fast your heart is beating and whether its rhythm is steady or irregular. An EKG also records the strength and timing of electrical signals as they pass through each part of the heart.
The EKG may show abnormalities in your heartbeat, a sign of broken heart syndrome as well as heart damage due to CHD.
Blood Tests
Blood tests check the levels of certain substances in your blood, such as fats, cholesterol, sugar, and proteins. Blood tests help greatly in diagnosing broken heart syndrome, because certain enzymes (proteins in the blood) may be present in the blood to indicate the condition.
Imaging Procedures
Echocardiography
Echocardiography(echo) uses sound waves to create a moving picture of your heart. The test provides information about the size and shape of your heart and how well your heart chambers and valves are working. Echo also can show areas of heart muscle that aren't contracting well because of poor blood flow or previous injury.
The echo may show slowed blood flow in the left chamber of the heart.
Chest X Ray
A chest x rayis a painless test that creates pictures of the structures in your chest, such as your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Your doctor will need a chest x ray to analyze whether your heart has the enlarged shape that is a sign of broken heart syndrome.
A chest x ray can reveal signs of heart failure, as well as lung disorders and other causes of symptoms not related to broken heart syndrome.
Cardiac MRI
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a common test that uses radio waves, magnets, and a computer to make both still and moving pictures of your heart and major blood vessels. Doctors use cardiac MRI to get pictures of the beating heart and to look at its structure and function. These pictures can help them decide the best way to treat people who have heart problems.
Coronary Angiography and Cardiac Catheterization
Your doctor may recommend coronary angiography (an-jee-OG-rah-fee) if other tests or factors suggest you have CHD. This test uses dye and special x rays to look inside your coronary arteries.
To get the dye into your coronary arteries, your doctor will use a procedure called cardiac catheterization (KATH-eh-ter-ih-ZA-shun). A thin, flexible tube called a catheter is put into a blood vessel in your arm, groin (upper thigh), or neck. The tube is threaded into your coronary arteries, and the dye is released into your bloodstream.
Special x rays are taken while the dye is flowing through your coronary arteries. The dye lets your doctor study the flow of blood through your heart and blood vessels.
Ventriculogram
Ventriculogram is another test that can be done during a cardiac catheterization that examines the left ventricle, which is the hearts main pumping chamber. During this test, a dye is injected into the inside of the heart and x ray pictures are taken. The test can show the ventricles size and how well it pumps blood. It also shows how well the blood flows through the aortic and mitral values.