Can You Actually Die From A Broken Heart?

short old Szenja , a   polar bear at SeaWorld San Diego , pass away   this week , reportedly“dying of a wiped out heart ” after her   prospicient - condition companion was moved to a different Mungo Park . You might have heard of this before , such as   when an aged distich choke within a few days of   each other after 70 years of unspoilt health . Johnny Cash famously diedjust a few months after his beloved wife buy the farm . His fans often peach   about how he die of a disordered warmheartedness , even though the death certificate indicates ramification from   diabetes .

So is there actually any science behind this theme of a “ broken heart ” ? Or is it all romanticist nonsense ?

It ’s undeniable that psychological tension ( in excess ) is not good for your wellness , as it can compromise   your immune scheme and leave you at risk of infection of an unwellness . However , there is also a very strange medical phenomenon that mime a broken heart and soul .

This documented condition is called “ broken center syndrome " , or scientifically known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy , acute strain - induced cardiomyopathy , and apical ballooning syndrome .

The syndrome is trigger by a sudden rush of epinephrin to the heart muscleman . This can shock one of the heart ’s bottom pump William Chambers , do it halt pumping and micturate   the top chambers pump hard . This tenseness do the chamber then blow out - up like a balloon . The outbound symptom pretty much look like they ’re having a eye onset , including chest pains , breathlessness , and collapsing .

A 1997 studyin the journalHeartwas one of the first sentence this phenomenon   was document in humans . It say the story of two patients who experienced acute cardiomyopathy that was “ related to major emotional stress alone . ”

It is often witness as a irregular stipulation , as the heart can return to its unconstipated configuration after intervention , although the death rate is around 4 to 5 pct , the British Heart Foundation tell IFLScience .

Dr Alexander Lyonis consultant cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London , one of the UK ’s largest heart specialist hospitals . He ’s presently researching Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and go for   to exand his studies   with groups of fellow European researchers .

Speaking tothe Guardian , he explained:“To a heart specialist , a heart onrush think of a blocked coronary artery , but in this stipulation , we determine the coronary arteries are exposed and the blood supplying is fine . We then depend at the pumping sleeping accommodation and it ’s paralyze , plus it ’s take on a unique and abnormal form ; it looks like a Japanese fisherman ’s octopus pot , called Takotsubo , hence its name . "

He estimated that as many as 2 per centum of assumed " heart attacks " each twelvemonth in the UK will , in fact , be broken heart syndrome .

So , in between all the anecdotal evidence , there is an element of truth behind stories of dying from a “ broken marrow ” , even if it ca n’t quite describe for all the romantic tales that surround it .