Broken Heart Syndrome (it's a real thing)

[Bill Ryan]

The phrase "s/he died of a broken heart" is well-known. But most of us thought it was something only ever found in Mills and Boon romance fiction.

But it's actually real, and was first formally identified in 1991. The medical term for the condition is Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (TCM).

The term was first introduced by a Japanese scientist, Dr Hikaru Sato. However, this was only the first time it had been described since people had been known to suffer from the condition.

After Dr Sato's paper was published, several more cases appeared over the next 10 years. It all remained largely unrecognized outside of Eastern culture, as most of the papers were written in Japanese.

But after the Japanese earthquake of 23 October, 2004, 16 people were diagnosed with TCM. They had no physical injury: just acute emotional stress. This large number in such a short period of time drew recognition from doctors in the West.

The name “broken heart syndrome” was coined in the early 2010s, in reference to those who experienced the condition after the death of a loved one. And even if it's not fatal, the effects can sometimes be very long-lasting.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f2Ga5O55k8

[Conaire]

100%.
My brother died in a car accident in 2011. That morning, after hearing the news, my mother had a heart attack. Less than 24 hours after my brother died my mother was in hospital having surgery on her heart. I believe and have always said that she had a broken heart from the grief of loosing her son.

My mother has made a full recovery, physically, thank God.

[Gracy]

A fitting place for this song. A grandson describing his grandfather after burying his wife of 60 years. The grandfather is lamenting how do you say goodbye to 60 years, and that he won’t be far behind her.

People truly do die of broken hearts.

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[Ernie Nemeth]

My grandfather passed less than three weeks after my grandmother. He had no physical ailments, except a broken heart...

[7alon]

I agree completely with this. I have personally helped some people clear this problem. It isn't to be taken lightly, and it is a very delicate thing to aid others with. It is kind of like defusing a bomb; wrong wire and you are going to make the situation so much worse.

An old driving instructor of mine had a friend who's partner had died. Not long after they (the friend) died too. They were perfectly healthy and had no history of heart disease. The autopsy reported that they died of heart failure.

Note: just for further clarification, the driving instructor had suspected the partner had died of a broken heart and clearly communicated his belief to me.