Woman ate wasabi instead of avocado, hospitalised with 'broken heart syndrome'

The Israeli woman ate an unusual amount of wasabi thinking it was avocado. Photo / Getty Images

An Israeli accidentally ate an entire serving of wasabi in one go after thinking it was avocado, a detailed report in a medical journal revealed.

The woman, who was attending a wedding, was hospitalised with "broken heart syndrome" after eating a "large amount" of what she thought was an avocado dip.

According to IFL Science, the women in her 60s, felt a "sudden pressure" in her chest before the pain moved down her arms. The sensation reportedly lasted for a few hours.

The next morning, after the wedding, she felt "uncomfortable and weak" and decided to see a doctor, reported IFL Science.

Doctors performed an electrocardiogram, to show the women's heartbeat, to discover she was suffering from takotsubo cardiomyopathy, colloquially known as "broken heart syndrome".

American medical centre, the Mayo Clinic, defines the syndrome as a "temporary disruption of [the] heart's normal pumping function in one area of the heart".

The syndrome is typically triggered by extreme emotional or physical stress, most people who suffer from it are 50 years or older, the Mayo Clinic reports.

In the medical report, researchers believe that the women case is the first "broken heart syndrome" caused by food consumption alone, IFL Science reports.

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of takotsubo cardiomyopathy triggered by wasabi consumption," the researchers wrote.

The women is now fully recovered after she was treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and beta-blockers, IFL Science says.