"Broken Heart" Syndrome

Jenny Hann doesn't have heart disease and has never had a heart attack. But her 'broken' heart has sent her to intensive care on several occasions — most recently on the day of her grandson's wedding. That morning she woke feeling unwell, but wanted to join her family who were busy with the final preparations for the big day. Before long though she had to return to her accommodation, as her nausea was getting worse and she had sharp pain in her shoulder. "It was really quite bad pain, and I said to my daughter-in-law that I was just going to pop back to my cabin and take some Panadol," she said. "But I didn't get back to them at all because it then progressed, with vomiting and crushing chest pain." Her husband rushed her to a nearby hospital and she was soon transferred to a larger facility. Once there specialists confirmed what she already knew: she had broken-heart syndrome — for the third time.

Stress cardiomyopathy occurs when the main pumping chamber of the heart fails and balloons with blood. There is a strong relationship between the syndrome and physical or emotional stress, such as death of a loved one, a serious accident, a sudden illness or a natural disaster, hence the name. For instance, 21 cases were diagnosed in just a few days after the 2011 earthquake that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand. What is not clear is exactly how stress hormones 'stun' the heart, and in almost 30 per cent of cases there is no identifiable trigger. The symptoms of stress cardiomyopathy — arm and chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, and loss of consciousness — are similar to those of a heart attack. But unlike heart attack, where a blocked coronary artery affects blood flow to the heart and that can permanently damage the heart muscle, stress cardiomyopathy does not usually cause permanent damage. The heart muscle returns to normal functioning within a week (and often after at least 24 hours in intensive care). Stress cardiomyopathy can still be deadly though, as a large part of the heart muscle is temporarily weakened to the point that it does not pump properly. This reduced function can cause a cardiac arrest — where the heart's electrical system is disrupted so that it stops pumping.

I have "chronic heart failure", and suffered a heart attack at 35 years old, so i know a lot about heart disease. But i have never heard of the "Broken Heart Syndrome" until today.www.abc.net.au...

Ive heard lots of cases of people dieing of a "broken heart", but i didnt know anything about the physiological process until now. Thanks for sharing. Ive felt a bit broken hearted recently.. its really not a nice feeling.. everything seems to slow down.

This is a good video that explores the role of the heart more deeply:

youtu.be...

a reply to: tommo39

There is a strong relationship between the syndrome and physical or emotional stress, such as death of a loved one, a serious accident, a sudden illness or a natural disaster, hence the name.

Some people worry themselves to death.

Nothing good comes from worry. If we are the worrying type we break the cycle with distraction or escape which just covers over the anxiety for a while.

People train themselves to worry about stuff. Over a life time it becomes addictive and debilitating. They have psychotic episodes, are driven to drugs and drink, become abusive to self and others.

Usually it all traces back to early development where someone didn't teach them coping skills, one of which is when to just_let_go.

a reply to: 0hlord

Hi Ohlord.. Your you tube window does not work sometimes those with a double = will not transfer.. The link works fine thanks.. Will insert a short working heart vid. ( Not sure about the God bit ) Peace..



Hi tommo39 and thanks for the thread..

a reply to: tommo39

Some people just need to learn to RELAX. This has nothing to do with broken hearts, and everything to do with unnecessary stress and anxiety. Deep breaths... Ohmmmmmmmmmmmm...

As one who has beat the odds and survived a major heart attack (100% occlusion of the LAD, i.e. widowmaker heart attack) I understand the importance of learning to live healthier, including mental health issues like stress management.

a reply to: skywatcher44

Hi skywather, thanks for the anatomy lesson

Teal Swans video is really in depth and interesting.. you wont learn how to perform Colinary Bypass but you will learn about the role the heart plays in functions outside of the heart.

I am a firm believer that it is possible to die of a broken heart.

My Grandfather passed away when I was 14, he had liver cancer and it was found much to late.
Him and my Grandmother had been married for 60+ years, and had been through everything together ( war, children, running and losing and rebuilding the family farm, his disabilities from the war, ect, you name it they dealt with it together).

They were so in love, always. I remember thinking that to myself when I was old enough to comprehend stuff like that. They weren't just married, and happy, they were each others happiness.

about 6 weeks after my Gpa passed my Gma followed. I remember sitting in the hospital with her, and listening to her talk ( we don't know why she passed, just that it was going to happen and that she most likely wouldn't make it through the night) She said, don't be upset, it's a fact of life, and she knew that as soon as Gpa left, she wouldn't be far behind, he always did give her such a hard time if he had to wait too long on her, so she took care of what needed to be taken care of so he wouldn't complain too much about it.

The docs said that it was just old age and her heart just gave out.

I know she missed him terribly, we all did, but her the most. This was the first time in 60+ years that their connection had been broken. He was the reason she was here, and she was his reason to keep going.

If there was ever proof of soulmates it was those 2.



Scientifically stress does some strange things to the body, and wearing it out and tearing it down is just a couple.