
Health

Share
28th April 2018
10:15am BST

As it turns out though, we weren't being dramatic when we said that we couldn't move from bed for four weeks the last time that someone broke up with us.
Because people can actually die from a broken heart. It's happened. And we are worried.
'Broken heart syndrome' or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress cardiomyopathy, was discovered in Japan way back in the 1990s.
The syndrome occurs when the heart's pump function stops working due to intense stress or upset.
Apparently, the symptoms (and potential outcome) of broken heart syndrome are the same as having a heart attack - you could either drop dead or be at least out of action for a very long time.
However, broken heart syndrome is different from the classic heart attack because when it happens there is no evidence of blockage in the organ's arteries.
The bad news doesn't stop there either because broken heart syndrome is faaar more common in women.
Like, really.
Like, 90 percent of cases are female.
Scared? Same.
According to Harvard Medical School, while the vast majority of cases are female-orientated, broken heart syndrome does most frequently affect women between the ages of 58 and 75.
So, you know, hopefully we'll be OK for the time being.Explore more on these topics: