Is it possible to die of a broken heart?

--asks Anonymous from Glendale, CA.

In Virgil's Aeneid, Dido dies of a broken heart. Or maybe it was the sword she threw herself upon. [TOD DER DIDO, HEINRICH FRIEDRICH FÜGEL, 1792]
By Karen Schrock | Posted August 4, 2006
Posted in: Ever Wondered?, Health

It’s the stuff of legends, poems, and country music lyrics. Ever since the ancient Egyptians attributed personality and emotion to the throbbing organ within the breast, the idea of dying of a broken heart has permeated our cultural consciousness. Of course, we’ve known since the Enlightenment that the heart doesn’t actually house the soul, and in the last century, the dawn of modern medical science promised to finally dispel those silly death-by-sorrow superstitions once and for all. But when researchers finally applied the scientific method to the study of heartbreak, they got some surprising results.

In 1969, a landmark study appeared in the British Medical Journal. Researchers followed 4,500 widows for 9 years after their husbands died, and found that they had a 40 percent greater chance of dying in the six months following their husband’s death. After that, the risk gradually returned to normal. And what did most of these grieving widows die of? A heart attack, of course.

Every subsequent study of a person’s risk of dying following a loved one’s death has found a similarly marked increase in their risk for a heart attack. But recent studies have shown that a much stronger effect can be seen in the risk of dying from an accident, violence, or alcohol-related problems. For this reason, most doctors suspect that it’s a change in behavior caused by grief that leads to death after heartbreak—a psychological rather than physiological phenomenon. And interestingly, this increased risk of death following the loss of a loved one is much greater for men than for the supposedly more emotional sex.

But women have their own unique worry in the face of heartbreak, according to studies published this February. Doctors at Johns Hopkins University were intrigued by patients who showed up at the emergency room following an emotional shock, like the death of a loved one or a car accident. These patients, mostly women, had classic heart attack symptoms, like chest pain and shortness of breath. But their electrocardiograms looked very different from regular heart attack EKGs, and subsequent tests showed that the heart tissue was not damaged at all. A classic heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when an area of the heart muscle dies. So the doctors realized that this new, rare heart condition, which they dubbed “acute stress cardiomyopathy,” must be an entirely different phenomenon.

The researchers at Johns Hopkins examined 19 patients who presented symptoms of Broken Heart Syndrome, as acute stress cardiomyopathy came to be called, between 1999-2003. Most were women, and most were in their 60s and 70s (but one was 27). None had a history of heart problems or chronic stress, and all had just received unexpected bad news or experienced a sudden surprise (including one surprise birthday party). These patients had many times the normal amount of stress hormones in their blood, and the researchers determined that these hormones, including adrenaline, were impairing the heart’s ability to pump. Luckily, all the patients recovered with little more than bed rest and fluids, and none suffered long-term damage. But if a person with a previous heart condition experiences Broken Heart Syndrome, they may not be so lucky.

So, it appears that it is possible to die of a broken heart. Of course, stress hormones and psychologically-induced risky behavior are much less romantic than the notion of sorrow alone taking a person’s life. But consider all those ancient legends and myths (see image above) that feature death by heartbreak—does knowing that they could be explained physiologically make them any less beautiful? That, my anonymous friend, is a question scienceline cannot answer.

——

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Posted in: Ever Wondered?, Health
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  1. …do NOT throw me a surprise birthday party….

    Ma, August 7, 2006 at 5:11 pm

  2. i am having my room done as a surprise. . .it is gonna be fun. and i think that this is awesome and i am glad they [[the scientists]] looked and expiremented with the symptoms and what-not. GREAT JOB PEOPLE!!

    Barbera, August 20, 2008 at 10:01 am

  3. I think I am living a slow death by heartbreak. Antidepressants are not working anymore after 13 years of working (still trying different meds from my shrink. A bunch of bad stuff has hit me over the last 3 years and it seems to get worse with each day. Wake up crying, battling it over my entire waking hours. Sleep is my only relief.
    Any help out there?

    Joseph P., October 1, 2008 at 10:01 am

  4. hey joseph,
    i understand ur situation my fren.if u want to contact me jetrin2000@yahoo.com is my mail id.i dnt knw whthr i will be able to help u,but i can certainly show u the right directions

    jetrin, November 1, 2008 at 9:01 am

  5. Am I gunna die cause my heart is broken

    Nell, February 15, 2009 at 7:48 pm

  6. i am dying of a broken heart everyday. i wish it would hurry up and kill me. i can’t take the hurt everyday anymore. i can’t take the loss anymore. i want to end my life so that i can sleep forever adn never have to hurt anymore. everyday is a struggle. sometimes it’s hard to breathe it’s always hard to smile. every ngith that i go to sleep i hope i never wake up again. i need help but there is no help. anti depressants don’t take the hurt away or give me my lover back. life is nothing and all those that depend on me (my kids and family) woul dbe better off without me i am so misreable all the time.

    alyssa, March 12, 2009 at 2:14 pm

  7. I died of a broken heart a long time ago. If anyone would like to know about my experience, commiserate, or maybe get a nickel’s worth of free advice, you can e-mail me at joeblue442@yahoo.com

    Joseph R, May 15, 2009 at 11:35 pm

  8. Right now my heart is beating so hard and fast that I understand that if I go through many more years of my soul being torn apart I WILL die of a heart attack. I want to find help soon. I own a .45 auto and all I can think about is putting it in my mouth or pressing the barrel against my temple. All of this is coming from what everyone else in the world sees as a 22 year old guy that’s silly as shit and just likes to write music and is in love.

    Tyler A, July 1, 2009 at 1:01 am

  9. i know what you mean, tyler, but i’m too scared to touch a gun, as much as i hurt more than anyone can tell. i’m so tired of being tired and hurting. i take unisom and nyquil but wake up frequently. it’s such torture. i hope you can find help because your words sound so ugly and painful, and while i’m so wrapped up in my selfishness, knowing someone else is going through something as similar and awful makes me feel some slight comfort. i really hope we can all stop hurting so much soon. i want the great sleep too but just wish it would happen randomly with an accident since i’m too much of a wimp for more serious things. i’m usually more rationally minded, but not lately. not anymore.

    jen, July 1, 2009 at 9:13 pm

  10. I know how you all feel,believe me,I do.I had to separate from my soulmate and we did not want to…circumstances beyound our control.I am all cried out and now I am going into severe depression.At least when I am like this,I think I will be able to sleep.I wouldn’t use a gun…if you miss,you will be a veg the rest of your life and I have seen people that have missed(they didn’t plan to miss).A broken heart is the worse pain imagineable that I have ever gone thru.I think I made it past suicide ,but now have the privilege of going thru life misable…I guess we will all have to suffer together till we reach the other Side….

    Gramm, July 3, 2009 at 5:04 am

  11. I’m in the same situation as Gramm. I woke up last friday and my beautiful soulmate had packed and left. Just a note on the table saying that we’re done. No explanation, just gone. I feel like i’m going to implode I hurt so bad. And this incessant crying is killing me. When do I get to sleep for more than 15 minutes again?

    Mike S, August 4, 2009 at 5:29 pm

  12. i do believe you can die of a brokenheart…i am doing just that..have been on meds for 1 year therapy 3 hours a week and getting no where..this depression sucks..i only go out once a week and that is for therapy..spent 30 days in hosp..for depression..there is no happiness anymore in my life..my life is crying and hurt all the time..so yes i do think you can ….

    hollie, August 19, 2009 at 10:11 pm

  13. How long does it take cause I am beyond more than ready! This is no way to live and I just cant do it anymore, nor do I have it in me. We’re told in the bible we’ll never be given any trial we cannot overcome… This is one I can’t overcome. I believe I’m going to feel this way forever. So, do me in already please! Please! It hurts too much. There is no joy in life anymore. What’s the point of living!?

    abandoned, August 27, 2009 at 3:01 am

  14. I understand what ur all going through. I too feel like I am not going to make it through. I had my soul mate and after a series of stupid arguements, I inexplicably left her. Thinking is would give her a jolt and realize how bad the arguements were. When i asked her to come back she refused. I feel like I’m dying inside. Everyday is a battle and right now I dont see a way over this hurdle. They say it gets easier but i cant see it. I too have considered suicide, i hope the broken heart gets me sooner.

    any adice would be appreciated
    dalexxxxx@hotmail.com

    Dale, August 30, 2009 at 1:59 am

  15. All of you are going through terrible things, and trust me I feel the same way. I have been waiting for death for five years. Everytime something horrible happens I close my eyes, say it can’t get any worse and try to go on just to suffer another trajedy and feel like I’m dying physically, and note that on the inside I’m already dead.
    However we ALL have something that can help us overcome these terrible things: each other… We all know how it is to suffer. we all know how it feels, and we all want a shoulder to cry on and a friend to talk to so we can get through this. in times like this it is true, it is impossible to get through it alone. That’s why you can’t do it alone, you need some one else…
    My e-mail is Heresthe33cat@yahoo.com

    Joseph D., August 30, 2009 at 3:06 pm

  16. Reading these comments surprise me. They are all how I feel. I have felt dead for so long, I am a zombie. I hardly even cry. But reading these brought back so many tears, seeing that others feel the misery I feel. I never thought someone could feel the same despair, as naive as that is. It is so unfair, and I hope you can find joy in life again. I am surprised at how the words you speak are the same that I have been saying to the people around me. I have been told to trust my struggle. So far, my trust has been in vain. I am sending as much love as I can muster to those of you who also need help.

    nobody, September 10, 2009 at 5:00 am

  17. it takes true strength and courage to live… each day
    life is gift… there is opportunity to change
    there is always hope… remember that

    our ancestors would have wanted us to be brave just as they were in their time.

    Nate Robinson, September 11, 2009 at 4:28 am

  18. I know what you all are going through.My sweet heart,puppy[wife] died 4 years ago & I still miss her a lot.She was my best friend & helped me through a lot.I wish I had been a better man.You people know Rob Thomas’s new song HER DIAMONDS I felt & continue like that.So helpless watching her suffering with cancer .I told he before she died I want to take her place.
    I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU PUPPY!

    Seto Kaiba, September 14, 2009 at 7:14 pm

  19. i know how gramm feels…my boyfriend’s mother is trying to split us up and he is trying to believe her..it hurts soo bad knowing that if he leaves, my heart will die….he is apart of me!!i gave him my heart

    lulu, October 6, 2009 at 5:04 pm

  20. I understand exactly the symptoms described in this article. After a series of devastating losses, the last one resulted in the physical symptoms described, not being able to breathe and bad chest pain. Unfortunately, my last visit to the doctor showed by heart was fine.

    Kathleen, October 7, 2009 at 8:36 pm

  21. i know how each and every one of you feels. my love broke up with me 3 years ago and everyday has been painful.last year i developed cancer and have been given a year or so to live.i believe that my cancer was brought on by my grief.

    lost, October 8, 2009 at 8:28 am

  22. I recently lost my “once in a lifetime” love; a love that I know for certain will never come again. The pain and emptiness that I feel is beyond words and haunts me each and every day, for I loved/love this person with my very soul.
    The most important thing that I want to say here is that if you have someone who loves you; who cares about you; you have the most precious thing that life can give.In the end, everything else will eventually fail you; everything! Love is the only thing that endures; but it must be appreciated; it must be nutured. I lost the person I loved through my own selfish behavior and neglect, now I must spend a lifetime filled with loneliness and regret.If you are reading this and have someone who loves you, you are rich beyond all words; never take it for granted;tell that person that you love them; more importantly; show them that love in unselfish ways that says they are valued; that they matter.Nothing you will do in your life will ever be more important. May you have the wisdom and understanding as to never have your name added to this sad list of heartache.

    Richard Marzolf, October 30, 2009 at 11:28 am

  23. You people who are young and just went through a break up especiely for something stupid you did and you think she or he was your soul mate there not or they would have come back.They don’t feel that way about you.
    S. here is some advice from someone who has been there.The best way to cure a broken heart is FIND SOMEONE ELSE WHO REALLY IS YOUR SOUL MATE AND WHO REALLY LOVES YOU AND WHO YOU LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Jim, November 20, 2009 at 9:16 am

  24. I lost my son, I found him stiff, I feel like my actual heart is hurting and that it may quit at any moment, there is no relief, it can’t hurt any more than it does. I miss my son, I will never ever be over him. I love my husband of 32 years more than anything, but either of us would have gladly taken his place and it wouldn’t have been as hard on the spouse as losing ones “child”.

    Melanie, December 3, 2009 at 4:55 pm

  25. I lost my husband Oct. 27th. at the age of 44 to the same cancer I lost my mother too. I asked him that night if he was leaving me and he said NO over and over. then he got out of bed and fell to the floor. I was unable to life him up due to problems after a semi accident and recent major surgery I had. I covered him with a blanket put some pillows under his head and said I will see you in a few hours. when i woke up he was gone. i can’t help but blame myself only if I could have got him off the floor would we of had a few more weeks together.
    I’v lost half my hair and very thin now. it hurts to breathe. I will not talk to anyone and I just want to be alone. will this pain ever pass. I don’t think so. I’v lost too much. I don’t even want to wake up in the morning just to hurt some more.

    wendy, December 16, 2009 at 10:26 am

  26. Wendy, your story is so sad. I hope that you are able to find some peace or comfort during this very difficult time.

    tanyetta, December 17, 2009 at 11:01 am

  27. Helllo all.. my story begins in a dark place lost my mom at 15 then when i turned 19 i spent 6 weeks in a hopital on life support…got out survived that then had to have lung surgery..found a girl who went to school with me hit it off and spent three blissfull years dedication myself…of coarse there were minor setbacks and arguments like any couple…but i think i really did it this time…shes gone for good and now this bottle of pills are looking so inviting i just dont know who to turn to anymore…my family just makes a spectacle outta the whole thing with wise words like ” if you love it let it go and if it comes back it was meant to be…” type of ISHT and its just not helping…its been 3 days and i can still smell her skin on her side of the bed….god please tell me why she did this to me?….how could she be so cold?? how could she be this heartless??? i know i messed up…but you cant tell someone you forgive them and that you will come back and then once your gone tell them that you f-ing Hate them…and that you dont want to speak to them ever again…the air i breathe is cold and bitter…the colors all seem so dull…she was my everything my one reason to keep living now….somebody please help me end this nightmare..

    Vic=Sorrow...., December 26, 2009 at 9:38 pm

  28. So to add on to december 26th she also revealed on the 29th that she had been sleeping with 5 other guys…… 1 of which was a married man she slept with at the ripe old age of 16!!! ( EROHW ) and two of them i met …one had a party at his house AND I THEY HAD SLEPT TOGETHER PRIOR TO THAT EVENT!!! HOW MESSEED UP IS THAT!?!??! I DONT GET IT! The other one is really fat and ugly….i am not a bad looking guy and i am definately not lacking in that department….is it just that she is starving for attention and the only way she knows how to get it is thru intercourse…my god she is far too beautiful to be this way…i feel now, ever so tormented…trapped inside my own Reality which has quickly turned to a nightmare….somebody please wake me up…I must be dreaming…..oh sweet pills……hold me closer i feeel i’m slippin A – w – A – Y *

    Vic=Sorrow, January 12, 2010 at 3:20 am
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