Arkansas Heart HospitalFrom the HeartAllCan Scary Movies Cause Heart Attacks?
Your heart is racing, yourbody is tense and you’reprobably squeezing the arm of the person next to you.Thevillainis coming,butyou don’t know when.Then,hestrikes,and youjump!
Forhorror filmenthusiasts,feeling fear isaddictive. But cantheintense, sudden fearbrought byscary moviescause a heartattack?
When youget scared, you get a rush ofadrenaline.Yourheart rate increases, your blood pressurerises,and you may even experience chest pains.Is it aheart attack?Mostlylikelynot. However,extreme fear can cause a heart attack inveryrare cases.
This phenomenonis calledfear-induced stress cardiomyopathy, or broken heartsyndrome.It’striggered by stressful events or extreme emotions, says interventional cardiologistDr. Gary Nash.
It is believed that the release of stress hormones, including adrenaline, causes the heart to dilate and weaken.It can feel like you’re having a heart attack, with symptoms like chest pains and shortness of breath.However, no arteries are blocked
Dr. Nash explains that the condition is most common in postmenopausal women, although he has seen it in a variety of demographics. There are other risk factors including a history of neurological conditions (such as epilepsy), or a history of psychiatric disorders (anxiety or depression).Individuals with high blood pressure may be more at risk than others because heart attacks and strokes are related to blood pressure.
Broken heartsyndromeistreatable, and the condition usually reverses itself within a fewweeks. In rare cases, the syndrome can be fatal.
If you have heart health concerns, make an appointment with one of ourexperienced cardiologiststoday.
