Takotsubo cardiomyopathy occurs when a person experiences sudden acute stress which can rapidly weaken the cardiac muscle. The symptoms can mimic a heart attack, like chest pain or shortness of breath. So how does this happen?
When your body experiences a sudden acute stressful event, your body produces hormones and proteins, adrenaline and noradrenaline, that are meant to help with the stress response. The heart muscle can get overwhelmed by the massive amount of adrenaline being released suddenly and experience temporary damage. In some cases, the heart is able to recover, but in other cases, it can be life threatening, though most patients don't have permanent damage to the heart after such an event.
Broken Heart Syndrome