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You’ve definitely heard of someone dying almost as soon as their loved one dies, as a case of severe heartbreak.

It may sound hyperbolic, but dying of a broken heart is actually medically and scientifically backed.

‘Heartbreak’ is typically used to describe an emotional state or as the physical symptoms of being brokenhearted, but Australian heart surgeon Nikki Stamp says that there’s more to it.

“What we know is that for some people the stress of losing a loved one, or any kind of stressful event in your life, does precipitate a whole bunch of reactions in the physical body as well as in your mind that can cause disease and sometimes cause someone to pass away,” Dr Stamp said via ABC News.

Mostly, the death of a loved one is so stressful and painful that it increases your heart rate and blood pressure, makes your heart work faster, makes your blood stickier, and ruins your immune system, notes Dr Stamp:

“And, of course, you start to do those things that maybe aren’t so good for you, such as burying your emotions in comfort food or not exercising, not connecting with people.

“That’s really, really an important part of how you deal with stress. It’s certainly something that we’re discovering more and more lately.”

The legitimate and specific medical condition for dying of a broken heart is called “taktsubo cardiomyopathy”, or heartbreak syndrome:

It was first described in Japan in 1990 after a patient’s heart was said to resemble a Japanese octopus pot, and it has only been recognised in Australia for a bit over 10 years.

Taktsubo cardiomyopathy happens after “an acutely stressful event”  when “there is a massive rush of adrenaline and it causes something similar to a heart attack,” Dr Stamp said:

“When it comes to takotsubo, we do actually see all of the tests that point to a heart attack. When we go and look at their heart, look physically at an image of their heart, what you see is normally coronary arteries and this big blown-out heart.”

Something like this.

In the first 30 days after a loved one dies, your risk of dying too is significantly increased, the research says.

Taktsubo is really rare, though, mostly striking post-menopausal women. Plus, not everyone who suffers from it will die.

Nonetheless, take special care of yourself and your other loved ones after you lose someone in your life. Heartbreak is real.

[source:abc]