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Broken Heart Will Kill You, Says Science
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 11, 2012
Modified Jan 11, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 11, 2012
Modified Jan 11, 2012
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A new study came out this week declaring that those with broken hearts are more likely to have a heart attack. The study is very sad! And it broke our heart a little bit, and now we are going to sue science when we have our heart attack over it all. However, if you really must know about it, the study (which was originally spotted by ABC News) says that "grief over the death of a loved one can cause a huge spike in a person's risk of heart attack," especially right after the loss.
This is based upon 2,000 adults who survived heart attacks. Here's the number breakdown: on the first day after the loss, the risk of heart attack was 21 times higher, then after one week it was 6 times higher, with an eventual decrease over a month. Grief can also cause higher heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormone levels, and blood clotting. Author of the study—which ran in the the American Heart Association's Circulation journal—Elizabeth Mostofsky says, "Friends and family of bereaved people should provide close support to help prevent such incidents, especially near the beginning of the grieving process."
This is probably why (spoiler alert) at the end of The Notebook Noah dies right after his true love Allie.
Tagged
broken heart
grief
heart attack
science
study
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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