Wasabi-infused chest pain? This condition is similar to a heart attack.

Ms. A, a 60-year-old woman living in Beersheba, Israel, felt a painful pressure in her chest while enjoying food at a wedding. The pain quickly spread to her arms. This feeling persisted for several hours before subsiding.

The next day, she went to the hospital because her chest pain returned and she felt weak. Emergency room doctors performed an ultrasound and detected abnormal activity in her left ventricle. Some segments of the heart muscle were not contracting at all, while others exhibited reduced contraction.

 

Doctors determined that Mr. A suffered from a condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as "broken heart syndrome," which causes symptoms similar to a heart attack, such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Takotsubo is a Japanese octopus-catching jar. This condition causes the muscles in the left ventricle to twist, creating a narrow, octopus-catching jar-like appearance.

She was given steroids and blood pressure lowering medication.

The medication included ACE inhibitors, which relax arteries and veins, and beta-blockers, which block the effects of stress hormones on the heart. She was sent to a cardiac rehabilitation center, and a month later, an echocardiogram revealed normal heart function.

 

Doctors believed that the condition was caused by drug use, neurological disorders, physical or emotional stress, or allergic reactions to certain foods.

 

An unexpected cause was discovered: Minutes before the symptoms appeared, she had mistakenly eaten a teaspoonful of wasabi, mistaking it for avocado.

 

This is the first case of wasabi consumption causing heartbreak. While some compounds in wasabi may have health benefits, such as anticancer properties, ingesting large amounts can lead to severe stress reactions that can impair heart function. The case was reported by the popular science media outlet Live Science.

 

Takotsubo disease typically occurs after severe stress or emotional trauma. Causes include the death of a loved one or a breakup. It is characterized by temporary, abnormal dilation of the left ventricle of the heart. It occurs more frequently in middle-aged and older women.

 

The main symptoms of this disease are similar to those of a myocardial infarction, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations (feeling of the heart beating fast), dizziness, and fainting, but the difference is that the coronary artery is not blocked. . It usually recovers spontaneously, but drug therapy may be needed initially to stabilize heart function.

 

 

============

I really like wasabi

Even if you eat just a little bit

My nose is also clear,

 

I ate this with a teaspoon.

This chest pain? Shortness of breath? I guess it's a bit much.