Is It Really Broken Heart Can Cause Death?

Medical Video: You Actually Can Die From A Broken Heart!

Broken heart sometimes makes someone feel very bad. Left by a partner because various causes make us feel the world is no longer meaningful. Not infrequently, we feel worthless, nothing more can be fought after the couple's departure. Stress and depression are also at risk when someone feels worse. Broken heart is not only in the form of temporary separation or being rejected, but can be separated by death. However, have you ever heard the news that someone died after being left behind by their partner? It turns out that this phenomenon can occur and is known as broken heart syndrome.

Is it true that a broken heart can cause death?

Broken heart syndrome also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, was first discovered by a researcher from Japan about more than 20 years ago. This syndrome can affect the heart's ability to pump normally. Even so, this syndrome is only temporary. Symptoms can include shortness of breath and chest pain. According to David Greuner, M.D., director of NYC Surgical Associates, quoted by the Woman’s Health website, the symptoms are caused by the nature of the heart that is responsive to stress hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine, and cortisol. This syndrome can interfere with one's survival, can even cause death.

Research shows an increase in death and heart disease due to the departure of a partner. The study, published in Circulation, quoted by the Healthline website, found that people who grieve after the death of their loved ones are very likely to die of a heart attack.

Broken heart can indeed make your heart troubled, and the symptoms experienced are almost the same as a heart attack, but chest pain is broken hearted in contrast to a heart attack. According to cardiologist Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, medical leader at Bethesda Memorial Hospital's Chest Pain / Heart Failure Center, was quoted as saying by Healthline.com, the difference was that the arteries of people affected by broken heart syndrome were clean, there were no blockages.

When I hear 'broken hearted', we immediately imagine teenagers. We also assume that this syndrome is a teenager, because at that time the time for children to like the opposite sex and emotional state is not stable. Sometimes these romantic stories don't end beautifully. However, the right answer is that this syndrome is usually experienced by postmenopausal women and the reason is not yet clear, according to Dr. Richard Krasuski, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

How can a broken heart kill you?

Stress hormones flow into the bloodstream, thus speeding up the heart rate, increasing blood pressure, tensing muscles, and activating immune cells. Blood is transferred from the digestive system to the muscles and makes it easy to clot. Increasing blood pressure and cholesterol levels can also be caused by stress, and when this happens, the heart rhythm is disrupted. Stress hormones can also make blood vessels narrow. Researchers from Duke University asked 58 men and women with coronary artery disease to use a heart monitor portable for two days and record it in a diary about what they do and feel.

Tension, frustration, and other negative emotions are thought to make blood flow inadequate in the blood vessels that fill the heart. This condition is called myocardial ischemia (ischemic heart disease, a sign of lack of blood flow to the heart muscle), which can cause a heart attack.

Broken heart can also cause depression. Depression is associated with stress and heart disease. Depression can also increase stress hormones and can make the heart less responsive to 'minute to minute' signals to slow or increase blood flow.

Feelings of pain due to loss indicate that a relationship really means. When someone falls in love with each other, a relationship becomes more than just love. Even though there is no black and white, death can damage a person's health. This sense of loss arises because we are used to its presence, its attention. When it's all gone, we not only lose the person, but also lose our attention and the way they treat us.

Recognize when grief changes into depression

Normal grief or sadness sometimes looks similar to depression, at least initially. Here are some signs that need to be considered when sadness turns into depression:

A person does not take care of himself, loses nutrition and weight, and experiences insomnia
Chronic physical complaints
Withdraw from friends and family.
Lack of interest in activities that are usually carried out
Feeling in vain that lasts for months
Strong boredom

The bad news is that even if you are not experiencing a broken heart syndrome, loss that involves your emotional feelings can still kill you.

How to prevent?

According to Dr. Christopher Magovern, a cardiologist at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey, the best way is to avoid moments that stress you out. Learn to be more open to others and seek support from them. The following are other things you can do, such as:

Meditate, exercise, or do yoga to manage stress
Talk to people you care about
Watch comedy movies
Go with your friends, especially single people
Maintain furry pets; like a cat or dog

What not to do:

Switching pain by drinking alcohol
Immerse your emotions
Avoid school and work because your heart is like crumbling. Even though this condition is true for you, avoiding routine activities can actually make you feel worse.

All you need to remember is being alone at home is not the right solution. Maybe you really need time for yourself, but not too long. Still according to Dr. Krasuki, going to exercise and not thinking about your problems can be a good solution.

How to help someone who has a broken heart?

Helping someone who passes through deep sorrow is rather difficult. Some people don't want to hear good expectations from people, some people need to be embraced. Some people may easily go through step by step, some are trapped and may recall the past. All you have to do is keep contacting the person, give affection without appearing to feel sorry. If indeed the person is still in a reasonable stage of grieving, then giving support is sufficient. However, when someone has shown symptoms of depression, it's time for you to seek help from a therapist or other professional staff.