(单词翻译:单击)
It sounds like a scene from a soap opera: someone loses their soul mate, then passes away in the night, seemingly from a broken heart.
这听起来像是肥皂剧中的情景：主角们失去他们的灵魂伴侣，然后就在夜里去世了，看上去是死于心碎。
But it’s not just a trope of fiction -- broken heart syndrome is real and in very rare cases, it can even be fatal.
但这并不是虚构的比喻—心碎综合征确有其事，而且少数情况下甚至致命。
Broken heart syndrome, aka stress-induced cardiomyopathy, is a weakening of the heart that can cause similar symptoms to regular cardiomyopathy,
心碎综合征，也称为应激性心肌病，是一种心脏的衰竭，能够导致和普通心肌症类似的症状，
or heart muscle disease: chest pain, shortness of breath, and sometimes changes in heart rhythm.
或心肌疾病：胸痛、气促以及心律不齐。
It’s so similar, in fact, that the syndrome wasn’t identified until the 1990s. But there’s one key difference.
由于症状太过相似，直到1990年代才对这种综合征进行鉴定。但它们之间还有一个关键不同点。
In stress-induced cardiomyopathy, patients don’t have blocked arteries, the most common cause of heart disease.
在应激性心肌病中，病人并没有冠状动脉疾病，这是一种心脏病的常见起因。
And when you X-ray the heart, it looks a bit like a takotsubo, a type of pot used as an octopus trap in Japan.
当你用X光检查心脏时，这看起来像是Takotsubo，一种在日本被用于抓捕章鱼的罐子
Which is why the syndrome is also sometimes called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
所以这种综合征也被称为Takotsubo心肌症。
The shape comes from a temporary enlargement of the heart, especially the left ventricle, the largest and strongest of the four chambers of your heart.
该形状源于心脏的暂时膨大，特别是左心室，心脏的四个心室中最大最强的那个。
Normally, bigger might sound better, but in this case, the left ventricle becomes enlarged
通常越大代表越好，但在这种情况下左心室变得膨大
because the muscle tissue isn’t working as well, it’s become less elastic and weaker, so it can’t pump with as much force as normal.
因为肌肉组织不能良好运行，所以弹性减弱且变得更加脆弱，所以左心室无法正常跳动。
We still don’t know exactly how this enlargement happens,
我们还是不知道这种膨大是如何产生的，
but the leading hypothesis is the sudden release of catecholamines, like adrenaline, what’s often called the “fight or flight” response to stress.
但主要假设是儿茶酚胺的突然释放，如肾上腺素，通常被称为是对紧张的“战斗还是逃避”反应。
Catecholamines increase blood flow to the muscles and raise heart rate and blood pressure to prepare your body to react to potential threats.
儿茶酚胺增加肌肉的血流量并增加心率和血压，为你的身体应对潜在威胁做准备。
But in cases of broken heart syndrome, these catecholamines go overboard for some reason, interfering with the muscles’ ability to contract.
但在心碎综合征这种情况中，由于某些原因，这些儿茶酚胺有点过头了，从而干扰了肌肉收缩的能力。
It’s typically provoked by a profound emotional event or trauma like the death of a loved one, getting fired, or abuse hence the name “broken heart syndrome.”
心碎综合征通常由深刻的感情事件或创伤所引起，比如爱人的逝世、遭遇解雇或虐待，因此得名“心碎综合征。”
That said, it can happen after any type of stress, even if it seems mild, like locking yourself out of your house.
这就是说，心碎综合征发生在任何紧张情况后，即使这种情况看起来温和，比如把自己所在家门外。
And the event doesn’t even have to be bad.
并且这件事甚至不用是糟糕的事情。
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy can happen after happy moments, too, like being surprised at a birthday party or hitting the jackpot at a casino.
Takotsubo心肌症也可以发生于幸福的时刻，比如生日会上的惊喜或是赌场赢大奖。
There’s still a lot we don’t know about broken heart syndrome, but one thing researchers have learned is that it mostly happens in older women.
关于心碎综合征还有很多我们不明白的地方，研究员们了解到的一件事就是心碎综合征基本发生于老年女性身上。
They’re not totally sure why, but it may have something to do with lower levels of the hormone estrogen, which helps regulate stress.
他们还不确定其中原因，但这或许和雌性激素水平低有关，雌性激素能够帮助调节了紧张。
As women get older, their estrogen levels drop off.
随着女性年龄的增大，她们的雌激素水平随之下降。
So they’re more likely to be deeply affected by a stressful event and to experience stress-induced side effects like broken heart syndrome.
所以她们更容易深受压力事件影响，也更容易经历压力诱导型副作用，如心碎综合征。
But that doesn’t explain why it rarely happens in men, who generally have very low levels of the hormone.
但这并不能解释男士很少遭遇心碎综合征的原因，男士的激素一直很低。
So estrogen is just one piece of the puzzle.
所以雌性激素仅是谜题中的一片。
If all this talk of death by broken heart is freaking you out a little, just know that it’s super rare, and life-threatening cases are even rarer.
如果心碎而死的话题让你害怕，你仅用知道这个真的超级少见，危险生命的例子更是少之又少。
Most cases resolve on their own in a few weeks, though doctors usually monitor people just to be safe.
大对数情况下，在几周内就能自愈，虽然医生会监控病人，只为确保病人的安全。
So, as the saying goes, time does heal a broken heart. Or at least, it usually heals broken heart syndrome.
所以常言道，时间可以治愈一颗受伤的心。或许至少，时间能够治愈心碎综合征。
Thanks for asking, and thanks especially to our patrons on Patreon, who always have a special place in our non-broken hearts.
感谢提问，特别感谢Patreon的赞助人，你们在我们的心中占有特殊地位。
You have helped to keep our hearts whole!
你们帮助保持我们心心的完整！
If you want to propose questions for us to answer or get other rewards like access to monthly blooper reels,
如果你想向我们提问或是获得月度拍摄花絮的奖励，
which, this episode had a whole thing about getting stuck in a bathtub that we cut out.
比如本期视频有卡在浴缸的花絮。
You can get it! You’ve got to go to patreon.com/scishow though.
你可以获得的，只用登录patreon.com/scishow。
