The idea of a broken heart may make you think of a cartoon, an emoji or a bad break-up from your past. But broken heart syndrome is a real physical condition, which is also known as Tako-tsubo.

Good guess but just wide of the mark. Tako-tsubo syndrome was described for the first time in Japan, at the start of the 1990s. Researchers in the western world didn’t acknowledge the condition until several years later, towards the end of the decade.

The name is Japanese because that’s where the first case was recorded? How can we recognise the symptoms? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

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A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

First broadcast: 10/05/2021

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