Broken Heart Syndrome is real – and potentially fatal, finds study

Deep sadness after the death of a loved one may be lethal, according to a new study recently published in the magazine Borders in public health.

The study reveals an important relationship between overwhelming grief and an increased risk of mortality over 10 years, CNN reported.

Researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark, led by postdoctoral researcher Mette Kjærgaard Nielsen, attended the health results of 1,735 relatives for over 10 years. They categorized participants in groups experiencing “low” and “high” levels of symptoms of sadness.

During the decade long study, a strong difference appeared as 26.5% of people with high sadness symptoms, compared to just 7.3% of those who were less dynamically affected.

The “high levels” of sadness have been defined to face more than half of the nine defined symptoms, including emotional numbness, feelings of intelligence, the difficulty of accepting loss and confusion about one’s identity.

Participants completed the questionnaires at the beginning of the study, again six months and three years after their mourning, providing a detailed picture of their emotional state.

The study also observed increased interaction with the healthcare system between those with high grief symptoms, marking higher use of antidepressants, mental health and primary care services.

“Those who have a high orbit of sadness seem to be a vulnerable group of relatives already before death, with the need for special attention,” Nielsen said CNN by email.

“(They) may need additional support, they may face difficulty and have difficulty in dealing with the situation,” he said, showing previous studies that have highlighted a low socio -economic state, poor self -reported health and higher symptoms of depression and anxiety, such as contributing.

While this study did not clarify the causes of death, its findings are aligned with existing research on how traumatic loss affects physical health.

Cardiologist Sian Harding, a peer professor of Cardiac Pharmacology at Imperial College, London, who did not participate in the research, emphasized the critical “timeless perspective” of the study.

He noted that while the acute effect of mourning on heart health is well known, this study demonstrates a prolonged, devastating effect that can be manifested as heart disease and other diseases.

“It was not a special surprise for me that this particular form of stress, while prolonged, has a detrimental effect on the body. It can come out in particular as heart disease and other things,” Harding said.

This prolonged stress from sadness can lead to increased blood pressure, elevated cortisol levels, a higher risk of diabetes and poor mental health.

The established “Broken Heart Syndrome”-also called cardiomyopathy caused by Takotsubo’s anxiety or cardiomyopathy-a sudden weakening of the heart muscle, is a primary example of natural tolls of acute stress.

The findings from the latest study indicate that healthcare workers “may be able to discover relatives coming from the course of the patient’s illness and provide follow -up,” Nielsen said.