Broken heart syndrome is a rare disorder that mimics a heart attack, with shortness of breath and chest pain. Most people with the syndrome recovery fully, but some die and others suffer life-threatening complications.
The publication reported a case of a 61-year-old woman who was treated for broken heart syndrome after she abruptly stopped using OcyContin and the case of a 54-year-old woman, a regular crack cocaine smoker, who was treated for the same condition.
Both cases were the first reported cases of these factors contributing to broken heart syndrome.
"Given the drug's prevalence, physicians should proceed with caution when removing patients from high-dose opioids in order to avoid serious complications and hospitalizations," Juanita Rivera, M.D., an anesthesiologist with Mayo Clinic Rochester and lead author of the report, said in a news release.
"The report demonstrates that cocaine use can potentially trigger transient left ventricular apical ballooning, also known as broken heart syndrome, in certain susceptible individuals, but further research is needed to determine other associated risk factors," Dr. Sandeep Arora, an internal medicine specialist at Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh, said.
Source: The studies were published in the June 2006 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
