How does broken heart syndrome differ from a heart attack?

How does broken heart syndrome differ from a heart attack?

Unlike a heart attack, in broken heart syndrome your heart muscle is not permanently damaged and your coronary arteries are not blocked.

The tests your healthcare provider orders help reveal if your symptoms are broken heart syndrome or a heart attack. You have broken heart syndrome and not a heart attack if:

• Your symptoms appeared suddenly following a stressful physical or emotional event.
• Your EKG was abnormal – your heart’s electrical activity showed some abnormal changes – the changes are the same as those seen during a heart attack.
• Your blood work shows a rise in cardiac enzymes levels, the same enzymes that would be high in a heart attack.
• The arteries supplying your heart are usually not blocked and there’s no scar tissue present in your heart.
• The lower part of your left ventricle is enlarged – shows a ballooning of this area – and there’s unusual muscle wall movements.