Can a Broken Heart Kill You?

An old saying used to be, “No one ever died of a broken heart.”   Now medical science has proven this to be untrue.  You can indeed suffer a serious heart problem because of a broken heart.  In fact, a broken heart can be lethal!

In the last 10 years medical research has discovered a new illness called, “The Broken Heart Syndrome.”  Its a medical condition that generally afflicts middle-aged women who have suffered a severe emotional trauma.  It doesn’t have to to be a relationship that has gone sour.

No, when we say a “broken heart”  I’m not just talking about relationships.  A heart can be broken from many things.  Severe sadness of any variety can “break” the heart.  Grief, anxiety, depression, loss of a loved one, losing a job, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and any severe emotional trauma can damage our hearts.  They can all lead to such such a severe release of hormones within the body that it can cause real damage.  http://abcnews.go.com/WN/broken-heart-syndrome-emotional-stress-heart-problem-middle/story?id=9798271

The heart can suddenly become weakened and be unable to pump blood effectively.  It may even present similar to a heart attack.

About a year ago, a patient of mine presented after having her father pass away.  She had lost her mother the year before and then her father had become ill.  Just a week after he died, she found herself feeling very anxious.  Soon breathlessness gripped her lungs.  Finally, a feeling of being suffocated was enough to send her to the emergency room.

Her EKG was abnormal.  And because of this we performed a cardiac catheterization (passing a plastic tube inside the arteries of the heart to see if there were heart blockages.)  Her heart arteries were clean, but the heart muscle was damaged.

Luckily, the woman made a complete recovery.

So you may be asking yourself, “Am I at risk of dying because of a broken heart?”   It’s a question that should be asked more often.  Answer the following questions to see if you are at great risk.

1.  First, do you frequently feel overwhelmed to the point of not feeling you can cope with life?

2.  Would you say you suffer from depression or are treated for depression or anxiety?

3.  Have you recently suffered the loss of a dear loved one?

4.  Are you “stressed out” on a frequent basis?  To the point of needing to be off work?

5.  What about your cardiac risk factors?  Do you have three or more of the following:  smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, age for males over 55 years old, woman over 65 years old, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, known heart disease,  or family history of heart disease.

If you have any of the first 4 things above, then you may be at risk for developing heart disease.  If you have 2 or more traditional risk factors on top of this- then you’d better walk cautiously.

You could be at particular risk for dying from a Broken Heart.

Don’t despair!  You can change your life.  With the proper treatment you can heal your emotional, psychological, and even physical risk factors that may be putting you at risk.

If you want to know more about this subject, consider signing up to receive my free special report, “A Broken Heart Can Be Lethal.”  www.ABrokenHeartCanKillYou.com

Don’t let heart-ache get the best of you.  Take action to keep your heart safe and healthy.