Because it's Valentines Day, I thought I'd talk about broken hearts.  I know. How morbid, right? No way!! Not nearly as morbid as my next blog is going to be, that I assure you. ;)   

    Though the phrase "He/She died of a broken heart" is romantic and often used to evoke drama in plays, movies and literature, there is some science behind it. It is, in fact, possible to die of a broken heart.  The "experts" aren't exactly sure how it happens, but after a loved one dies, an emotional stressor, a lover leaves, etc...it's thought that there is a burst of catecholamines and/or stress hormones that affect the heart.  This burst of catecholamines may create vasospasms that further affect the blood supply to the myocardium to contract properly, or something else entirely may occur. No one really knows.  What we do know is that the heart temporarily enlarges and can't pump well.  If symptomatic, it can look and feel like a heart attack.  Sometimes the heart failure can be severe.  If you take an echocardiogram, the apex of the heart's left ventricle balloons outward, so much so that it looks like an octopus trap.  Does anyone know, offhand, what an octopus trap looks like? I don't. But broken heart syndrome was first described in Japan, and the Japanese doctors thought the ballooning left ventricle looked like an octopus trap, so they labeled the disease, "Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy."  Tako Tsubo means "Octopus trap" in Japan.  ( See picture above for a visual) Perhaps Japanese cardiologists trap a lot of octopuses in their free time, I don't know.  I feel like if it was discovered in the US, it would be called something like..."A big Cheese Ball in the Left Heart."  Either way, next time someone breaks your heart, look them in their devil eyes and say, "My heart can now trap octopuses because of you..., Jerk."  

      So you see an octopus trap on an echocardiogram, and sometimes, if you take an ECG, you'll see ST segment elevation, which usually indicates a myocardial infarction ( heart attack).  But the fascinating thing about "Octopus trap" cardiomyopathy is that the cardiac enzymes, which are elevated in an acute myocardial infarction, are not elevated in Broken Heart Syndrome.  Usually, you don't have to treat it at all. After listening to Love Notes over and over again, eating a ton of icecream, drinking excessive alcohol and having a good romp in the bed, Broken Heart Syndrome goes away, just like that! ;)  No, not really. But it does magically resolve on its own, and in most cases the treatment is supportive care only, though some people also give aspirin. Unlike the movies and books, usually people don't die of a broken heart, but dying of a broken heart is a stronger, more romantic plot than octopusing out for a few weeks.  Interestingly ( or obviously) enough, Broken Heart Syndrome affects women more than men, which, in my mind, proves women obviously care and love more. ;)   

      I once wrote a short story about a young, female chemist who suffered from Broken Heart Syndrome. To manage it, she decided that she wouldn't fall in love anymore.  She created an oxytocin inhibitor via a nifty acid/base reaction in her self-designed, basement lab, and inhaled it regularly, since inhalation is the fastest route to the brain. As many of you know, oxytocin, C43H66N12O12S2, is a hormone that we humans secrete, and it's the hormone that makes us attached and fall in love with whoever stimulates its secretion. It's the trust hormone, and what people market as trust potion, the attachment hormone, the anti-cravings hormone and the calming hormone.  We can't fall in love without it ( So they say)  but more about oxytocin later...if later you want to hear about oxytocin. ;)  So next, the girl in my story meets this one guy and... BAM! They just imprint, like Jacob and Renesmee in Twilight ( I know I'm too old for Twilight references, but I'm insane over vampires.) She feels every nerve tip tingling, that manic energy lighting up like firecrackers inside her skull and that body- transforming- into- a- fluffy- cloud sensation. And she's totally giddy.  ;)
 
   She knows she's falling in love while suffering from Broken Heart Syndrome, but thinks it's okay, since she can stop it from happening.  So she inhales and inhales and inhales her oxytocin inhibitor, but nothing happens. She falls deeper in love and starts to panic, because she knows that when THIS guy walks out of her life, like they often do, she's going to be so heart broken that she might die.  She takes a stronger dose of oxytocin inhibitor, but still, nothing happens. More stuff happens in the story ( that I'm too lazy to type out) and after tireless acid/base reactions and panic attacks, she has an epiphany. Her love for this guy trumps all her chemistry tricks. It trumps biology, and that can only mean one thing: He's her soulmate.  And when you finally, if ever, find your soulmate, it's a connection that supersedes hormone levels, distance, neurotransmitters, excuses, age,time, physics, science, any earthly parameter and even death.  It's the invisible, creative and clever partnership of mystery and truth: The soulmate connection. And that's what I'd call a timeless love, if one's ever so lucky to stumble upon his or her soulmate. 

Happy Valentines Day.  :) 

PS:  Here's my dad ( a veterinarian) , my Uncle Mike ( a music composer) and another Mark playing My Funny Valentine to a 3-piece trombone arrangement by my Uncle Mike. I love this song. Total Music Therapy!  

 

Love,
Eeks