I am sure Cupid is often amazed at the extent some of us go when it comes to the affairs of the heart, but maybe the adage “it is better to have loved and lost than to nev­er love at all.” Love is a good thing but it may also come with its unique challenges.

When love goes bad or one’s expectations in a relationship are not met, some people may suffer what we refer to as broken-heart syndrome. We may think this is purely an emotional phenomenon BUT there is evidence that the heart literally breaks and even the best heart doc­tors may struggle to differentiate it from a Heart Attack.

The good news is that when your heart breaks from love gone bad, loss of a loved one, financial challenges and even strangely extreme happiness such as winning a huge amount of money or even a surprise mega party, all the changes are reversible from a few days to a maximum of two to three months. Women seem to bear the brunt of this syndrome especially after menopause.

I remember years ago whenev­er any of my team members at the emergency prompted me that a young lady had just been brought in with “hysteria” you could bet your last crumpled Ghana cedi that there was love in the mix. The story will often unfold slowly and the “unconscious” lady will promptly sit up in bed and spend a significant time being coun­selled; maybe we should have run more tests on their hearts at the time.

Broken Heart Syndrome may have symptoms that feel like a heart attack and may include chest pain and shortness of breath BUT unlike a heart attack it is not caused by clogged arteries, instead it may be precipitated by an emotionally stress­ful event such as hearing or seeing on social media that your ride or die partner has other plans.

It appears that stress hormones overwhelm the heart causing heart vessels to go into spasm and instantly reducing oxygen to the heart mus­cle and mimicking a heart attack. This “stunning” of the heart may be associated with dizziness, fainting, nausea, irregular heartbeat and low blood pressure. These symptoms may start from a few minutes to hours after the stressful event.

Fortunately you will rarely die from broken heart syndrome and you are not more likely to suffer from broken heart syndrome if you already have heart disease but some risk fac­tors do exist:

• Being female

• Age 50 years and above for both males and females

• Your genes may predispose you

• Having a head injury or sei­zure disorder

• Having anxiety or depression

Some blood tests and ECG (not the company that plays games with our hearts through agonising dumsor) may show heart injury but other heart tests may make the picture clearer though the first few hours can be difficult to tell and one will need to be started on medication to protect the heart.

Fortunately the heart changes from Broken Heart Syndrome are easily reversible and people recover much quicker than someone who has suffered a heart attack. Rarely some­one may have complications from this such as heart valve damage or heart failure.

Did we have a surge in Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (aka Broken Heart Syndrome) about two months ago when we marked Valentine’s Day? “I cannot know, I cannot tell” but the emotional challenges people go through on this single day may be enough to precipitate Broken Heart Syndrome and taking care of our health holistically including mental, social and physical health will go a long way to speed up our recovery when we happen to be hit by this bug.

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pres­sure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr Kojo Cobba Essel

Health Essentials Ltd/ Medics Clinic

(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)

*Dr Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’

Thought for the week – “For heart health you need to relax and have fun as well; schedule time for leisure, sing praises to God, laugh often, learn to breathe deeply and maybe get a pet. Avoid toxic rela­tionships as much as possible.”

References:

1. Broken-Heart Syndrome- Mary Jo DiLonardo, WebMD

2. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy – Harvard Health Publishing

By Dr Kojo Cobba Essel

 The Revival Outreach Church in La on Friday presented food items to the Street Academy in Accra.

The gesture was to support the academy to take care of the under­privileged children and help in the organisation of an Easter picnic for the children on Easter Monday.

The items worth over Gh₵27,000 include rice, sugar, maize, tin fish, gari, toiletries, clothes and many others.

Led by Rev. Prof. Abednego Okoe Amartey, immediate past Vice Chan­cellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) said the gesture was to put smiles on the faces of the children and also encourage the staff of the Academy for the good work.

He said the presentation has been an annual thing and believes it has come to stay.

According to him, it was important for other churches and organisations to join the effort to keep these children off the street and be trained in their areas of interest.

Rev. Emmanuel Amuzu who presented the items commended the staff and manage­ment of the Academy for the good work it was doing to giving the children a bright future.

He said the items were not meant for the children alone, adding that, “part of it would go to the teachers who train these children. That should serve as an incentive to them.”

He lauded the vision of the Acad­emy Director, Ataa Lartey and urged more organisations to offer similar support.

“What the Academy is doing is massive. These are children who on regular days would roam the streets and grow up becom­ing social deviants. Parents should try to be more responsible taking care of their wards.

“However, traditionally when a child is born, his or her development and upbringing becomes the respon­sibility of the society. It is the reason we, as a church, would continually support the acad­emy to keep these children to get the training to be respon­sible adults,” he explained.

The Director of the Acad­emy, Ataa Lartey thanked the leadership and members of the church for the presenta­tion which he said would go a long way to ease the burden on them.

 By Spectator Reporter