Can You Die of a Broken Heart? Find Out Here
If you've ever been dumped by somebody who you loved intensely, you should know the unmistakable feeling of heartbreak all too well. Sometimes the pain goes away for a while before another wave of sadness comes crashing into you just a while later. When it may feel like too much to bear, many have often wondered whether you can actually die of a broken heart. Keep reading and find out...
1. Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy
Well, the simple answer is, unfortunately,
yes. It is known by doctors as “stress-induced cardiomyopathy,” in which
the stress that your suffering is placing on your heart becomes so
intense that it stops beating.
According to Australian heart surgeon Nikki Stamp, "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.”
She also said that it does "things like,
increase your heart rate and blood pressure, makes your heart work
faster, makes your blood sticky, and ruins your immune system.”
2. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy
When professionals speak of dying from a
broken heart, they are typically referring to a very rare condition
known as 'takotsubo cardiomyopathy.'
According to Dr. Stamp, "what happens is in an acutely stressful event …
there is a massive rush of adrenaline and it causes something similar
to a heart attack," and that “when it comes to takotsubo, we do actually
see all of the tests that point to a heart attack.”
3. Older Women Are Most Vulnerable
Recent studies have shown that 90% of
reported takotsubo cases occur for women aged between 58 and 75.
However, most physical sufferers were healed within a month, and only 5%
of women who die from cardiac arrest have been diagnosed with the
disorder.
This syndrome is supposedly the reason why studies have shown your risk
of death increases in the first month after losing a loved one. It is
also the reason why you hear so many tales of people who have been
together for a very long time passing on within a very short time-frame
of each other.
4. It is all in your head
When it comes to breakups, the root of the
problem is located in your mind and not in your heart. In fact, many
have often made connections between the mind of a drug addict and the
mind of a person in love.
Since romantic love stimulates the brain's pleasure receptors in a
similar way to a drug high, people in love will feel euphoric when in
the presence of the object of their affection, while suffering from
separation anxiety and intense cravings when they're apart.
This also means that a person who has been abandoned by someone they
love will suffer from the same sort of terrible withdrawal symptoms that
a heroin addict will go through when trying to wean themselves off of
the drug.
5. Time Is the Best Healer
The best piece of news is that scientists
have found that time does physically heal such wounds. In fact, they
found that the more time that passes after the breakup, the less
activity related to the attachment is found in the brain.
According to Helen Fisher, the biological anthropologist and author of
'Why We Love', the best thing to do while waiting for time to heal your
wounds is to reflect upon the breakup instead of distracting yourself.
She says that "it seems to be healthy for the brain, to instead of just
wallowing in despair, to think about the situation more actively and try
to work out how you’re going to handle it,” she said. So, if ever you
feel like you're never going to get better after experiencing
heartbreak, remember that this too shall pass.