Mindy Weisberger is an editor at Scholastic and a former Live Science channel editor and senior writer. She has reported on general science, covering climate change, paleontology, biology and space.
The symptoms: While enjoying the food at a wedding, the woman began feeling a painful pressure in her chest that then radiated into her arms. This sensation persisted for several hours, although the pain subsided enough that she opted to stay at the reception. The next day, lingering chest pain, discomfort and generalized feelings of weakness prompted her to seek medical care.
The diagnosis: Doctors determined that the woman was experiencing a condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as"broken heart syndrome," which produces symptoms mimicking those of a heart attack, such as chest pain and difficulty breathing."Takotsubo" refers to a type of Japanese jar used for trapping octopuses; the condition distorts the muscles of the left ventricle, making it resemble a narrow-necked octopus-catching jar.
What makes the case unique: Prior to this case, scientific studies had linked takotsubo cardiomyopathy to drug use, neurological disease, physical or emotional stress, and allergic reactions to certain foods. But this case had a cause that had never been documented before: Minutes before developing symptoms, the woman had mistaken wasabi for avocado and swallowed a teaspoon-sized helping.
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