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Heart Conditions With Strange Names You Probably Have Never Heard Of | Artemis Heart Centre

Artemis Hospital

January 20, 2024 |
9 Min Read | 191

The heart is arguably the most important organ in our body and needs immense care. Even slight carelessness can lead to long-term and life-threatening implications. When it comes to heart-related diseases, the most common names you must have heard are the likes of heart attack and cardiac arrest.

Cardiologists worldwide do their best to spread awareness about common heart conditions with the help of healthcare marketing experts. However, there are certain heart conditions we bet you have never heard of!

Even if the cause and symptoms of a few conditions are conventional, the heart-related complications we will discuss in the blog definitely have some of the weirdest names.

Here are a few heart conditions with strange names that you have probably never heard of:

Cardiac Syndrome X

The heart condition that sounds like the title of a sci-fi movie was named in the 70s when scientists were confused regarding patients exhibiting angina-like symptoms without blockages or narrowings in their coronary arteries.

Two researchers named Robert Arbogast and Martial Bourassa conducted a study of patients experiencing chest pain. One group of patients showed ECG signs of coronary heart disease despite having normal coronary angiograms. This group was referred to as Group X in the study. This led to the heart condition being named Cardiac Syndrome X, now more commonly known as microvascular angina.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

Takotsubo is a Japanese word that means “a pot for trapping octopus”. First described in Japan, the condition refers to the shape of the patient’s heart. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy is also commonly known as “broken-heart syndrome”.

This heart condition leads to the patient’s heart muscles getting suddenly weaker. Emotional stress is one of the major factors triggering the issue, hence the name “broken-heart syndrome.” Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy can cause breathlessness and chest pain similar to a heart attack. However, the condition is reversible and temporary.

Prinzmetal Angina

This heart condition gets its name from an American doctor named Myron Prinzmetal, who published his research on heart-related issue. Commonly known as angina inversa, variant angina, and coronary artery spasm, the condition is characterized by distinct chest pain cycles. When the blood vessels carrying blood to the heart go into spasm, they prevent normal blood flow, leading to health complications.

Interestingly, Prinzmetal was also one of the first healthcare experts to establish a link between coronary heart disease and the patient’s diet. His findings contributed to the notion of eating healthy to maintain a healthy heart.

Kawasaki Disease

Kawasaki disease is a heart condition first described by a Japanese pediatrician named Tomisaku Kawasaki in the 1960s. He spotted the issue in a 4-year-old boy and couldn’t make a precise diagnosis of the same as there was no reference in the medical literature of that time to help him out.

Kawasaki disease is a rare heart condition that generally affects children under the age of 5. It results in the inflammation of the blood vessels, leading to unwanted health complications. The heart condition is most common in Japan, with the treatment involving intravenous immunoglobins and aspirin.

Although the exact cause of the issue is yet to be determined, it is believed to be caused by an infection. Some of the major symptoms of Kawasaki disease include reddened lips, fever, swelling in hands and/or feet, rashes, red eyes, and swollen lymph nodes.

Torsades de pointes

This is a dangerous heart condition characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm that can be fatal. First described by a French doctor named Francois Dessertenne, the condition gets its name from the electrical waveform produced by the patient’s heart on an ECG trace (a twisting and writhing pattern.)

The term “Torsades de pointes” means “twisting of the points” in French. Torsades de pointes can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, palpitations, and fainting. If the abnormal heart rhythm is prolonged, it may lead to the patient’s death.

Tetralogy Of Fallot

Another heart condition with an abnormal name is Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart disease wherein kids are born with four structural heart defects:

  1. Overriding Aorta – Generally, the aorta is formed on the left side of the heart. Here, the aorta is placed towards the right side, making the child’s body receive blood that is both high and low in oxygen.
  2. Pulmonary Stenosis – This is an issue characterized by the patient’s pulmonary valve is narrowed.
  3. Ventricular Septal Defect – This defect is characterized by a hole between two ventricles of the patient’s heart.
  4. Right, Ventricular Hypertrophy – Here, the muscle on the right side of the patient’s heart gets excessively thickened.

Children born with this heart condition often need to be operated on early on in their lives.

Barlow’s Syndrome

This heart condition is named after the doctor describing it in 1966 named, John Brereton Barlow. Barlow’s syndrome is a heart valve disease that affects the patient’s mitral valve. People suffering from this issue have a mitral valve whose one or more flaps fail to close properly.

Initially called Barlow’s syndrome, the heart condition was given a new name by Dr. John Michael Criley, calling it mitral valve collapse. The condition is also known as a click-murmur syndrome because of the sounds that can be heard using a stethoscope.

Ebstein’s Anomaly

Ebstein’s anomaly is a heart condition named after a German doctor named Wilhelm Ebstein, who described it in 1866. It is a congenital heart disease wherein the tricuspid valve of the patient is inadequately formed, making the blood leak backward. If not treated on time, the heart condition can lead to the enlargement of the patient’s right atrium.

Ebstein’s anomaly is a serious heart condition that requires quick and precise treatment. It often occurs along with other congenital heart issues, such as atrial septal defects.

The Final Word

These were a few heart conditions with absurd names you may not have heard before. Having good knowledge about heart conditions and their implications allows you to take the right preventive measures on time and keep your heart healthy.

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