Surviving a broken heart

Dorothy and Dick Lee

“I am so thankful to Methodist Hospital. I am alive today because the doctors correctly diagnosed me,” says Dorothy Lee.

Dorothy’s medical emergency began when the minivan in which she was a passenger in hit a curb on a dark night last November in Apple Valley. At first, Dorothy thought they hit a patch of ice. But when Dorothy looked at her husband, Dick Lee, 62, he was slumped behind the steering wheel, his head resting on his chest.

“I was frantic. I knew he wasn’t breathing and the car was still moving,” recalls Dorothy. “We were all over the road. I grabbed the steering wheel, put the car in neutral and removed the keys. The car still did not stop, so I had to swing my leg over Dick’s to reach the brake. I tried to resuscitate him, but I just couldn’t.”

Help arrived within minutes, but Dick had suffered a massive heart attack and could not be saved. As the family gathered around Dick at a Burnsville hospital to say their goodbyes, Dorothy’s own heart began to fail. “All of a sudden, I grabbed my chest in pain and got dizzy.”

By the time she reached the emergency room, Dorothy was vomiting and sweating uncontrollably. She eventually lost consciousness and was rushed to Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, where an experienced cardiac team was waiting for her.

“Dorothy was very close to death when she arrived,” recalls cardiologist Jackson Thatcher, MD. “Despite typical heart attack symptoms, her EKG and angiogram showed no signs of one or even any blockage. Her cardiovascular system was actually incredibly healthy, but her heart was severely ill.”

At its worst, Dorothy’s heart was functioning at only 10 percent of its normal pumping capacity. “My children feared they were going to lose their mom and dad in one night,” says Dorothy.

Dr. Marek Kokoszka  and Dr. Thatcher, who has 17 years of experience at Park Nicollet, suspected a diagnosis Dorothy, and many doctors, had never heard. Dr. Thatcher confirmed it after performing a heart catheterization.

“The severe emotional shock of losing her husband of 40 years triggered a case of stress cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome.”

Tragic or shocking events can cause the nervous system to release an excessive amount of adrenaline, which overwhelms and stuns the heart, creating heart attack-like symptoms. 

“Understanding the difference between a heart attack and broken heart syndrome is critical,” says Dr. Thatcher. “Clot-busting drugs often given to heart attack patients could cause someone with broken heart syndrome to suffer a stroke.” 

Dr. Thatcher inserted a balloon pump to help increase blood flow until Dorothy’s heart resumed normal operations. Dorothy, then 58, was able to leave Methodist Hospital in three days with no permanent damage.

“My heart is physically recovered, but I miss Dick, his gentle spirit and all the wonderful things we shared together, like our weekly date night,” says Dorothy. Spending time with her grandchildren, gardening and sharing her story about broken heart syndrome is helping Dorothy’s heart heal emotionally.

“I am very thankful to my doctors for saving my life. I really feel it was divine intervention. I now have a mission to spread awareness about broken heart syndrome.”

More information about broken heart syndrome:

• it occurs in otherwise healthy patients, usually post-menopausal women
• the onset is sudden and follows an episode of emotional stress
• the symptoms strongly suggest a heart attack
• patients are critically ill with cardiomyopathy; but with appropriate care they survive

Symptoms may include:

• chest pain
• shortness of breath
• fluid in the lungs
• heart failure