In Japan, the small ceramic pots (takotsubo) are attached to a single, longline like the hooks used in longline fishing. The line is lowered in the sea and left on the sea floor, where they sit for a day or two like vacant homes for octopus to inhabit. Sometimes the pots are 'furnished' with squid eggs.
The takotsubo happen to have the same, or a similar shape as the human heart during a contraction. And the "broken heart syndrome" was first described in Japan and that is why it was given the name, "Takotsubo."
Left, X-ray of the heart during the contraction phase from a patient
with takotsubo. Note the distinctive shape with a narrow
neck and ballooned lower portion (arrows), which
contracts abnormally. Right, The Japanese takotsubo (ceramic pot used
to
trap octopus) has a shape that closely resembles
that of the heart on the left. This image courtesy Dr Satoshi Kurisu,
Hiroshima,
Japan.
I was diagnosed with Takotsubo in
March of 2013. But that's not what the paperwork called it. Instead, I was diagnosed with a myocardial infarction, caused by
apical ballooning syndrome. Apical ballooning syndrome is also known as
Takotsubo, which is also known as "
Broken Heart Syndrome." And yes, you can die of a broken heart.
