The diagnosis: broken heart syndrome. But the syndrome of “broken heart” impressively shows how closely the heart and soul are connected. Broken heart syndrome, also known as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is triggered by exceptional emotional situations - often grief, shock, or other extreme emotions. It is difficult to quantify how common broken heart syndrome is. Studies from Germany show that among patients with heart attack-like symptoms, broken heart syndrome was present in about 2.5% of cases.