Stress-induced cardiomyopathy: Mechanism and clinical aspects

The heart has been used as a classic symbol to represent emotion from ancient times. For example, heartbreak or heartache is an informal expression used when we feel pain due to emotional events such as sorrow, grief, sense of loss, anger, anxiety, and panic. In Korea, the word hwabyung means anger or fire disease [1]. The most common symptoms are chest tightness, dyspnea, and heat sensation, and patients with this culture-related anger syndrome often pound their chest with fists to relieve the symptoms. Predisposing factors of hwabyung are known to be related to psychological stressors. Psychological stressors need to be considered an important issue, especially in cardiovascular disease [2]. Depression is an established risk factor for coronary heart disease [3]. Stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SICM) is currently regarded as a suitable model of cardiovascular psychophysiology. This chapter discusses the mechanism and clinical aspects of SICM.