Turn on more accessible mode

Turn off more accessible mode

Skip Ribbon Commands

Skip to main content

Turn off Animations

Turn on Animations

Broken Heart Syndrome

Broken Heart Syndrome - What is it for

What is broken heart syndrome?

broken heart syndrome - SingHealth

Broken heart syndrome (also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress cardiomyopathy) happens when a person experiences sudden and intense stress or emotional changes, causing the heart muscle to weaken very quickly. Various life events such as losing a loved one, extreme sadness or happiness can bring about this condition.

The weakened heart is unable to pump properly. This results in symptoms which can mimic a heart attack or heart failure. This condition usually responds well to medication and recovery is expected with time.

What are the possible complications of broken heart syndrome?

People with broken heart syndrome usually recover without long-lasting effects. However, in rare cases, broken heart syndrome can cause severe weakness in the heart muscle, leading to life-threatening complications such as:

Heart failure
Extremely low blood pressure
Abnormal dangerous heart rhythm
Blood clots in the heart chamber

It is possible for people to experience a recurrence of broken heart syndrome though this is extremely rare.

Broken Heart Syndrome - Preparing for surgery

Broken Heart Syndrome - Post-surgery care

Updated on 2022-12-19T16:00:00Z
Article contributed by Department of Cardiology, National Heart Centre Singapore;NHCS Cardiology @ SKH, Sengkang General Hospital

TOP

[{"SHPageId":"558","BodyPart":"#Heart#","BodyPartLst":["heart"],"Institution":null,"SHDoctorConditionsTreatments":"#Heart Failure#, #Cardiomyopathy#, #Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy#, #Dilated Cardiomyopathy#, #Restrictive Cardiomyopathy#, #Broken Heart Syndrome#, #Cardiovascular Disease#, #Metabolic Syndrome#, #Echocardiogram#","SHDoctorConditionsTreatmentsLst":["heart failure","cardiomyopathy","transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy","dilated cardiomyopathy","restrictive cardiomyopathy","broken heart syndrome","cardiovascular disease","metabolic syndrome","echocardiogram"],"SHDoctorAwards":null,"SHDoctorAwardsFullHtml":null,"SHDoctorClinicalDesgDisp":"Senior Consultant","SHDoctorClinicalDesgInstText":"48d80a29-eabe-421e-aa61-202648168f9e|6a115828-2721-4036-9153-7d0eb7b6303f;Senior Consultant|6a115828-2721-4036-9153-7d0eb7b6303f;48d80a29-eabe-421e-aa61-202648168f9e|2db248c4-2112-4fcf-a07d-d2fdf93f21ce;Senior Consultant|2db248c4-2112-4fcf-a07d-d2fdf93f21ce;","ListSHDoctorClinicalDesgInst":[{"ClinicalDesgName":"Senior Consultant","ClinicalDesgId":"48d80a29-eabe-421e-aa61-202648168f9e","ClinicalDesgInst":"National Heart Centre Singapore","ClinicalDesgInstId":"6a115828-2721-4036-9153-7d0eb7b6303f"},{"ClinicalDesgName":"Senior Consultant","ClinicalDesgId":"48d80a29-eabe-421e-aa61-202648168f9e","ClinicalDesgInst":"Sengkang General Hospital","ClinicalDesgInstId":"2db248c4-2112-4fcf-a07d-d2fdf93f21ce"}],"ListSHDoctorClinicalDesg":null,"SHDoctorClinicalDesgInstFirst":"Senior Consultant","SHDoctorAltDesgDisp":"","SHDoctorEducation":null,"SHDoctorEducationFullHtml":null,"SHDoctorProfile":null,"SHDoctorProfileFullHtml":null,"SHDoctorResearchInterests":"","SHDoctorResearchInterestsFullHtml":null,"SHDoctorResearchTrials":null,"SHDoctorResearchTrialsFullHtml":null,"SHDoctorProfAppointments":null,"SHDoctorProfAppointmentsFullHtml":"\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eSenior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS),\u0026#160;2024 Nov\u0026#160;– Present\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eMember, SAF Cardiac Fitness Centre Medical Committee, 2022-Present\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"line-height\u0026#58;1.6;\"\u003eConsultant, Department of Cardiology, National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS),\u0026#160;2017 – 2024\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"line-height\u0026#58;1.6;\"\u003eClinical Assistant Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School, July 2020 – Present\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eMember, Patient Experience Steering Committee, 2019-Present\u003cspan style=\"line-height\u0026#58;1.6;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"line-height\u0026#58;1.6;\"\u003eClinical Lecturer, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"line-height\u0026#58;1.6;\"\u003eAdjunct Lecturer, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"line-height\u0026#58;1.6;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003eMember, CVM M\u0026amp;M Quality Assurance Committee, NHCS, 2017–\u0026#160;Present\u0026#160;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eMember, CVM Peer Review Learning (PRL) Quality Assurance Committee (QAC), NHCS, 2017 – Present\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003ePhysician Faculty Member, Singhealth Cardiology Residency Programme\u003cspan style=\"white-space\u0026#58;pre;\"\u003e  \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eClinical Lecturer, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAdjunct Lecturer, School of Chemical and Life Sciences, Singapore Polytechnic\u003cspan style=\"white-space\u0026#58;pre;\"\u003e\u0026#160; \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e","SHDoctorPublications":null,"SHDoctorPublicationsFullHtml":null,"SHQualification":null,"SHQualificationFullHTML":"\u003cp\u003eMBBS (Singapore), M Med (Int Med), MRCP (UK)\u003c/p\u003e","SHDoctorThumbnailPhotoRender":"/sites/shcommonassets/Assets/doctors/portrait-photos/khoo-chun-yuan-portrait.jpg","SHDoctorThumbnailPhoto":{"ImageUrl":"/sites/shcommonassets/Assets/doctors/thumbnail-photos/khoo-chun-yuan-thumbnail.jpg","Hyperlink":"","OpenHyperlinkInNewWindow":false,"Alignment":"","AlternateText":"Dr Khoo Chun Yuan from National Heart Centre Singapore","BorderWidth":0,"Height":0,"HorizontalSpacing":0,"VerticalSpacing":0,"Width":0},"SHDoctorThumbnailPhotoUrl":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/sites/shcommonassets/Assets/doctors/thumbnail-photos/khoo-chun-yuan-thumbnail.jpg","Description":"Dr Khoo Chun Yuan from National Heart Centre Singapore"},"SHDoctorPortraitPhoto":{"ImageUrl":"/sites/shcommonassets/Assets/doctors/portrait-photos/khoo-chun-yuan-portrait.jpg","Hyperlink":"","OpenHyperlinkInNewWindow":false,"Alignment":"","AlternateText":"Dr Khoo Chun Yuan from National Heart Centre Singapore","BorderWidth":0,"Height":0,"HorizontalSpacing":0,"VerticalSpacing":0,"Width":0},"SHDoctorPortraitPhotoUrl":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/sites/shcommonassets/Assets/doctors/portrait-photos/khoo-chun-yuan-portrait.jpg","Description":"Dr Khoo Chun Yuan from National Heart Centre Singapore"},"Email":"","SHDoctorRole":"Doctor;#","SHDoctorSalutation":"Clin Asst Prof","SHDoctorFirstName":"Chun Yuan","SHDoctorLastName":"Khoo","SHDoctorOtherName":"","SHDoctorHideProfile":false,"SHDoctorPrimarySpecialty":"Cardiology","SHDepartmentLink":null,"SHSpecialtyLink":null,"SHSubSpecialtyLink":null,"ListDoctorAcademic":null,"ListDoctorClinical":[{"SHDoctorClinAppPageItemId":"558","SHDoctorCorporateDesg":"","SHDoctorClinicalAltDesgText":null,"SHDoctorClinicalDesg":"Senior Consultant","SHDoctorClinicalInst":"National Heart Centre Singapore","SHDoctorClinicalInstLogo":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg","Description":"/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg"},"SHDoctorClinicalInstUrl":{"Url":"http://www.nhcs.com.sg","Description":"http://www.nhcs.com.sg"},"SHDoctorClinicalDept":"Department of Cardiology","SHDoctorClinicalDeptLogo":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg","Description":"/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg"},"SHDoctorClinicalDeptUrl":{"Url":"https://www.nhcs.com.sg/patientcare/clinicalspecialtiesservices/cardiology/Pages/Home.aspx","Description":"https://www.nhcs.com.sg/patientcare/clinicalspecialtiesservices/cardiology/Pages/Home.aspx"},"SHDoctorClnicApptsFURL":"khoo-chun-yuan","SHDoctorClinicalDisplayOrder":1},{"SHDoctorClinAppPageItemId":"558","SHDoctorCorporateDesg":"","SHDoctorClinicalAltDesgText":null,"SHDoctorClinicalDesg":"Senior Consultant","SHDoctorClinicalInst":"Sengkang General Hospital","SHDoctorClinicalInstLogo":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/SKH-logo.jpg","Description":"/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/SKH-logo.jpg"},"SHDoctorClinicalInstUrl":{"Url":"https://www.skh.com.sg/","Description":"https://www.skh.com.sg/"},"SHDoctorClinicalDept":"NHCS Cardiology @ SKH","SHDoctorClinicalDeptLogo":null,"SHDoctorClinicalDeptUrl":null,"SHDoctorClnicApptsFURL":"khoo-chun-yuan","SHDoctorClinicalDisplayOrder":2}],"ListDoctorSpecialty":[{"SHSpecialtyLink":"Cardiology","SHSubSpecialtyLink":"Heart Failure","SHSpecialtyLinkDisplayOrder":1,"SHDoctorSpecPageItemId":"558","SHDoctorSpecialityFURL":"khoo-chun-yuan"},{"SHSpecialtyLink":"Cardiology","SHSubSpecialtyLink":"Echocardiography","SHSpecialtyLinkDisplayOrder":3,"SHDoctorSpecPageItemId":"558","SHDoctorSpecialityFURL":"khoo-chun-yuan"},{"SHSpecialtyLink":"Cardiology","SHSubSpecialtyLink":"Cardiomyopathy","SHSpecialtyLinkDisplayOrder":2,"SHDoctorSpecPageItemId":"558","SHDoctorSpecialityFURL":"khoo-chun-yuan"}],"ListDoctorInstitution":[{"SHDepartmentLink":"#Department of Cardiology#","SHDepartmentLogoLink":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg","Description":"/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg"},"SHDepartmentUrlLink":{"Url":"https://www.nhcs.com.sg/patientcare/clinicalspecialtiesservices/cardiology/Pages/Home.aspx","Description":"https://www.nhcs.com.sg/patientcare/clinicalspecialtiesservices/cardiology/Pages/Home.aspx"},"SHInstitutionLink":"#National Heart Centre Singapore#","SHInstitutionLogoLink":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg","Description":"/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/NHCS-logo.jpg"},"SHInstitutionUrlLink":{"Url":"http://www.nhcs.com.sg","Description":"http://www.nhcs.com.sg"},"SHInstLinkDisplayOrder":1000,"SHDoctorInstPageItemId":"558","SHDoctorInstitutionFURL":"khoo-chun-yuan"},{"SHDepartmentLink":"#NHCS Cardiology @ SKH#","SHDepartmentLogoLink":null,"SHDepartmentUrlLink":null,"SHInstitutionLink":"#Sengkang General Hospital#","SHInstitutionLogoLink":{"Url":"http://authoring.sppub.healthgrp.com.sg/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/SKH-logo.jpg","Description":"/_catalogs/masterpage/HealthXChange/images/logos/SKH-logo.jpg"},"SHInstitutionUrlLink":{"Url":"https://www.skh.com.sg/","Description":"https://www.skh.com.sg/"},"SHInstLinkDisplayOrder":2,"SHDoctorInstPageItemId":"558","SHDoctorInstitutionFURL":"khoo-chun-yuan"}],"DoctorProfileInstitutionString":null,"DoctorProfileDepartmentString":null,"DoctorProfileSpecialtyString":null,"DoctorProfileSubSpecialtyString":null,"ListDoctorResearchAppointment":[],"DoctorResearchAppointmentItem":null,"StartDate":"\/Date(-62135596800000)\/","Path":"/profile/khoo-chun-yuan","LastUpdatedOn":"\/Date(-62135596800000)\/","LastUpdatedOnString":null,"SHDoctorAcademicProgLogo":null,"SHDoctorAcademicProgURL":null,"SHContentTagType":null,"SingHealthInstitution":"","SingHealthSpecialty":"","TypeOfContent":null,"DoctorFriendlyUrl":"khoo-chun-yuan","DoctorSpecialtyFriendlyUrl":null,"SHDoctorResearchEmail":null}]