Is it possible to die of grief? How to prevent grief-related wasting

Grief and depression can compromise the functioning of the circulatory system.

Throughout the history of literature and poetry, hundreds of dramatic stories have been told in which one of the characters suffered such grief after the loss of their loved one that they they even died of sadness. However, can this happen in real life?

Grief and sadness do not tend to be clinically valid reasons for death, but numerous studies point to the possibility that a healthy person could end up suffering from serious heart problems and even death due to great psychological suffering..

Relationship between emotional health and heart disease

Studies attempting to find different correlations between emotional health and physical illnesses, specifically heart disease, have increased in recent years. Some of this research suggests that in people suffering from moderate or severe depression, it is a risk factor for heart failure.Some of these studies suggest that in people suffering from moderate or severe depression, depression is a risk factor for heart failure.

These studies conclude that the more severe the depressive symptoms become, the more the risk of heart disease increases. Therefore, it is possible to die of sadness if you have heart failure, it is possible to die of sadness if you do not monitor your symptoms and do not seek help. and do not seek help.

Such is the level of connection between depression and cardiac problems that the American Heart Association has considered the possibility of including depression in the list of risk factors for heart disease..

Dying because of sadness?

One such study conducted by a group of Norwegian researchers establishes a direct connection between hormonal imbalancegenerated by depression, and the different effects it has on the heart. According to this work, depression can favor the release of hormones associated with stress, which provoke the appearance of inflammatory phenomena or atherosclerosis.

At the same time, other studies link the experience of recent grief with the death of the person experiencing it. According to these studies, after the death of a partner, the person is much more susceptible to suffer from more susceptible to suffer a heart condition or a cerebrovascular accident.They even specify that this risk is much greater between 14 and 18 days after the death of the loved one.

The same study warns of the grim prospect after the death of a life partner. For, even if the person is healthy, during the grieving process the risk of death from a heart condition increases by 57 percent.

The physical symptoms associated with this grieving process range from from irregular heartbeat or rapid pulse to atrial fibrillation.. These symptoms favor the onset of cardiac diseases or accidents, with the most common causes of these "grief" deaths being stroke and dementia.

Broken heart syndrome

Broken heart syndrome, also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress-induced cardiomyopathy, is a muscular condition of the heart that can appear after an experience of very intense emotional stress.

This broken heart syndrome can appear in healthy people who did not suffer from any type of previous cardiac alteration. In spite of constituting a passing malady of the musculature of the heart, it can become sufficiently important to cause death.

This phenomenon falls into the classification of myopathies, since the weakening of the heart muscles causes difficulties in pumping blood, leading the person to suffer from heart failure.

In broken heart syndrome this weakening occurs after an emotionally charged experience, such as the death of a loved one.

Approximately 90% of the people affected by this disease are elderly women, specifically women from 66 years of age onwards.specifically women from 66 years of age. But it can also occur in men or in younger people who have predisposing factors to it.

• Article related: "Syndrome of the broken heart: causes, symptoms and treatment".

Symptomatology

The list of symptoms associated with broken heart syndrome is very similar to that of myocardial infarction. These include:

• Pain in the chest area.
• Shortness of breath.
• Hypotension.
• Arrhythmia.
• Fainting or collapse.

However, these symptoms rarely end the patient's life. Only in 10% of cases do patients have a real risk of death. have a real risk of deathThese are those with symptoms of severe hypotension, decreased consciousness and pulmonary edema.

Causes

For the time being, the medical and scientific community has not been able to understand the exact cause of this syndrome. Nor has it been able to find out why it affects mostly women.

The leading theory is that a flood of stress-related hormones released into the bloodstream at certain times that lead to a at certain emotionally charged moments may be the cause of this type of myopathy.

This theory details that the abundance of these stress hormones can trigger a contraction of the arteries of the heart; producing an ischemia of the cardiac muscle and originating the symptoms of cardiomyopathy.

The main difference between this syndrome and the rest of myopathies is that, in the broken heart syndrome, the arteries are not obstructed by atherosclerosis plaques, the person being healthy in all physical aspects.

Also, as discussed several times throughout the article, broken heart syndrome usually occurs after a person experiences a highly emotional event. usually occurs after the person has experienced a strongly emotional event..

Treatment

There is no established treatment for broken heart syndrome. Typically, intervention focuses on support directed both at the psychological symptoms following a stressful incident and at the physical symptoms, through administration of Diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors recommended for the control of heart failure. recommended for the control of heart failure.

If treated in time, the mortality rate of this type of cardiomyopathy is less than 5%, and the person recovers completely in about two weeks.

Tips to avoid reaching this point

The most important point to keep in mind to avoid going to the extreme of almost dying, or dying, of grief is to take care of our own mental and emotional health.

Experiencing grief is an empowering experience if it is done in the right way and without trying to repress it. and without trying to repress it. In the case of feeling lost or disoriented, it is necessary to seek the help of a psychologist to guide the person through the different stages of this process.

Likewise, if the person perceives any of the symptoms described above, it is of vital importance to go to a primary care center to rule out the possibility of the symptoms developing.