system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 - is dying of a broken heart real? Is there a scientific explanation?
gpt
As a matter of fact, yes, it is. In the early 90's, Japanese cardiologists first described a phenomenon they named "Takotsubo Cardiomypopathy" which roughly translates to Octopus Pot in Japanese. It is characterized by a sudden weakening of the cardiac muscle fiber and can be brought on by strong emotional stressors such as the loss of a loved one. The name comes from the shape the heart takes on as viewed via a CXR, or, more likely an echocardiogram which strongly resembles the type of pot that traditionally would be used to catch octopi in Japan. The actual presentation mimics an anterior wall MI (heart attack) but there is no blockage and thus no infarct-only temporary (and many times reversible) weakening of the heart tissue.