Yes, you CAN die of a broken heart and women are twice as vulnerable as men: Cardiac surgeon reveals how our hearts govern our emotions

magica wrote:I'm not sure I believe in dying of a broken heart, but when husband or wife dies, after being together many years, normally into their 80s, the other normally follows within the year.

I think they give up the will to live, just go through the motions.

The Blade wrote:But in the medical world, it’s known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, named by the Japanese for a condition in which a traumatizing incident results in weakened heart tissue.

It’s also called stress cardiomyopathy — more simply, "Broken Heart Syndrome."

"It is very real," said Dr. William Colyer, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine for the University of Toledo Medical Center, formerly the Medical College of Ohio Hospital. "It was first described in 1991, but it’s really been in the last 10 years or so that people have become more aware of this condition."http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/02/12/When-long-time-spouse-dies-survivor-may-soon-follow.html

The Blade wrote:A University of Glasgow study done in 2007 in which researchers tracked more than 4,000 married couples aged 45-64 years old determined that the risk of death to widows and widowers increased by 30 percent in the six months following a spouse’s death.

The physical symptoms and any followup blood work of a person experiencing broken heart syndrome mimic those of a heart attack — and result in weakened heart muscles, Dr. Colyer said. The difference is seen in the arteries: a heart attack would show blockage, a broken heart syndrome case would not, he said.

Although it’s named after the concept of not being able to live after your significant other is gone, any devastating event can trigger broken heart syndrome, Dr. Colyer said.

However, for older people such as the Greiners and Buchers, age and pre-existing conditions play vital roles in combination with the syndrome, which is rarely fatal for younger people who experience it, the doctor said.

"The other part is the metaphorical part — ‘Hey, I’m 88 years old and she’s gone and I really don’t have anything to live for,’" Dr. Colyer said. "They are each other’s support systems — when something happens to one and they don’t have that, they could lose that will to live."