How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?

How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?

By Staff
Feb 10, 2005, 20:21


Researchers may have found scientific evidence supporting a real broken heart, according to a report published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The report, by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore suggests an emotionally stressful situation, such as the sudden death of a loved one, can trigger an event that mimics a massive heart attack, without the damage.

The team examined 19 patients who classic signs of a heart attack after experiencing a stressful situation, however, unlike a real heart attack, the patients recovered within two weeks. Scans showed no long-term heart damage.

The researchers described the phenomenon as "Broken Heart Syndrome."

Although damage to the heart caused by broken heart syndrome is reversible, it can be deadly.