When motorists are involved in wrecks in Georgia they often suffer injuries like whiplash and sometimes more serious consequences such as broken bones and brain injuries. However, heart attacks resulting from car accidents are often overlooked.
Research suggests anxiety linked to car wrecks may cause a condition called Takotsubo Syndrome.
The condition is also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy. Medical experts describe it as a temporary and sudden weakening of the heart muscles, triggered by emotional stress or constant anxiety.
Car crash victims may take a long time to recover from physical and emotional injury. Researchers found that most people diagnosed with Takotsubo Syndrome experienced physical or emotional stressors before the onset of the condition. Takotsubo Syndrome can be triggered by factors other than a car wreck like a break-up or the loss of a job. For this reason, the condition is also known as ‘broken heart syndrome.’
The sudden emotional stress associated with Takotsubo Syndrome may cause abnormal contractions of heart muscles. Researchers found these contractions often recede one to four weeks after an event but it can sometimes persist, leading to more serious complications that can prove fatal.
How accidents may trigger heart attacks
Takotsubo Syndrome is a particular risk to people with psychological disorders, cancer, and pulmonary diseases.
This is not the only heart condition associated with a traffic accident. Drivers or passengers may be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, also known as irregular heartbeat (AFib).
Typically, this can be brought under control by medication or electrical therapy.
Although some people can manage this condition for years with the help of medication, the trauma and shock of a car crash may aggravate your atrial fibrillation.
This condition could require medical intervention to prevent serious complications like blood clots and heart failure.
The causation between an auto accident and a heart attack is more obvious in some instances.
A cardiac contusion, also known as a “myocardial contusion” is a bruised area of heart muscle caused by a blunt trauma or a deceleration injury to the anterior aspect of the chest wall. This injury often impacts the right ventricle of the heart.
A fractured rib caused by the force of a car crash may cause a myocardial contusion. A cardiac event may be associated with an aortic rupture that causes heavy bleeding coming from the aorta.
The heart is a very complicated and important organ. When you suffer a heart injury as a result of a Georgia car collision, you should be able to make a claim for this injury. Call our Newnan personal injury lawyers at (404) 913-1529.