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At a wedding in Israel, the 60-year old woman downed a large amount of what she innocently thought was avocado, but turned out to be a mouthful of wasabi. As anyone whos had too much knows, it burns. It can make your eyes water. The whole fiery experience reverbs through your sinuses.
And it gave this woman chest pain that sent her to the hospital. Reports say that she was diagnosed with Broken Heart Syndrometechnically takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Thats when extreme physical or emotional stress can cause one of the chambers of the heart to balloon and can keep your heart from pumping blood effectively.
It has been associated with situations like receiving sudden and unexpected bad (occasionally good) news, accidents, intense fear, asthma attacks, and even fierce arguments and financial loss.
Symptoms are the same as heart attack symptoms, but people with broken heart syndrome usually recover within a month. (Weird fact: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is the named after a Japanese balloon-looking vessel with a narrow neck, called a tako-tsubo thats used to catch octopuses.)
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Doctors say this is the first time its been associated with wasabiand reportedly the first time its been associated with any type of food consumptionand its likely due to the extreme dose. She spent some time in cardiac rehab and is now recovered. And, we might assume, thinking twice about whether that guacamole is something else.