樂極生悲? 過度快樂 可能真的會心碎
Celebrating a birthday may not seem like a dangerous pastime but too much happiness can be heart-breaking, according to doctors.
慶祝生日看上去並非一項危險的娛樂，但快樂爆棚則可能讓你心碎，醫生說。
Health experts have known for some time that sad events, such as the loss of a spouse, can trigger a condition known as ’broken heart syndrome’ which feels like a heart attack and can be fatal if not treated quickly.
衛生專家早已認識到傷心的事件，比如失去配偶，可以導致“心碎症”，這個症狀類似心臟病，如果不盡快治療則可能致命。
Now for the first time doctors have shown that over-excitement from happy events can also spark the condition, which they have named ’happy heart syndrome.’ In short, happiness can be lethal.
而現在，醫生第一次證實快樂的活動引起的過度興奮也會促發該症狀，這被稱爲“開心病”。簡而言之，快樂也可以致命。
Since ’broken heart syndrome’ was first identified in 1990, doctors at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland have been compiling a database of worldwide attacks which currently holds 1750 patients.
自從‘心碎症”在1990年被首次發現，瑞士蘇黎世大學醫院的醫生們從世界各地收集了一份目前擁有1750個病人信息的數據。
Most attacks were triggered by episodes of severe emotional distress, such as grief, fear and anger. Attending funerals was a common factor and one incident occurred after an obese patient got stuck in the bath.
大部分的發病都由一連串的嚴重情緒不安引發的，例如傷心，恐懼和生氣。參加葬禮是一個普遍的因素，其中有一個案例是一名肥胖病人被卡在浴缸裏而導致發病。
But for 20 people the condition was precipitated by happy and joyful events, such as a birthday party, wedding, surprise farewell celebration, a favourite rugby team winning a game, or the birth of a grandchild.
但有20名病人的情況是因爲參加了快樂愉悅的活動，比如生日派對，婚禮，驚喜式告別會，自己喜歡的橄欖球隊贏了比賽，或者孫子誕生等。
study author Dr Jelena Ghadri, resident cardiologist from University Hospital Zurich said doctors should enquire about happy events as well as sad, when diagnosing heart problems.
研究報告的作者蘇黎世大學醫院心臟科醫生伊蓮娜·加德里博士說，醫生應該在診斷心臟問題的時候，除了詢問難過的事件，也要詢問開心的事件。
"We have shown that the triggers for ’broken heart syndrome’ can be more varied than previously thought," she said.
“我們證實了‘心碎症’的誘因可以比之前認爲的更多樣，”她說。
"A patient is no longer the classic "broken hearted" patient, and the disease can be preceded by positive emotions too.
“病人不再是經典‘心碎症’患者，這個病也可以由積極的情緒引起。”
"Our findings suggest that happy and sad life events may share similar emotional pathways."
“我們的發現證明了快樂和傷心的活動可能分享了相似的情緒路徑。”
The problem mostly affects women. 95 per cent of all patients in the database are female with an average age of 65.
這個問題主要影響女性。數據庫中95%的病人都是平均年齡爲65歲的女性。
Dr Christian Templin, principle investigator from University Hospital Zurich, said further research was needed to understand the exact mechanisms underlying both the "broken" and “happy" heart variants.
蘇黎世大學醫院首席研究員克里斯汀娜·滕普林博士說，還需要作進一步研究，以瞭解導致‘心碎’和‘快樂’兩種不同心病的確切機制。
The new findings were published in the European Heart Journal.
這項新發現發表在《歐洲心臟期刊》中。
