Broken heart syndrome, the pain of a heartbreak more in women
Often we have heard that due to being in sorrow or being separated from someone else, the heart of a person is broken. Heartbreak is considered a way of saying but it can also be a kind of disease. Broken heart syndrome is a disease in which a part of the heart becomes temporarily weak. Its muscles become lax, which reduces its pumping capacity. It is also called stress cardiomyopathy. Often this disease is seen when mental depression is high. A better way to avoid this is to keep yourself away from stress and negative thoughts.
However the pain from the sudden end of a relationship hurts most, it is similar to the feeling when you lose a loved one.
It leaves you feeling like an emotional wreck; suddenly your life seems to be falling apart. Authors and poets have written about this feeling, at great length in movies and have tried to capture it. In Bollywood and Hindi soaps, heartbreak often leads to a heart attack.
The moment the news of a death is delivered, the father or the mother is unable to bear the pain and suffers a stroke or when the hero decides to break up, the heroine collapses.
These scenes get more laughter than tears they're mocked for the theatrics. Brushed aside as unnecessary drama, turns out a broken heart is not an exaggerated feeling after all it is a real legit heart condition.
It's called broken heart syndrome, it is characterized by shortness of breath and chest pain. A broken heart can be triggered by a breakup divorce or the loss of a loved one, even a scary medical diagnosis.
Interestingly Bollywood for a change was right; heartbreaks can mirror a heart attack. You feel similar chest pain, you have trouble breathing, you may even faint but unlike a heart attack a breakup does not leave you with blocked arteries or permanent heart damage. The Cleveland Clinic says two percent of suspected heart cases, heart attack cases also have broken hearts.
The figure, experts say, is an underestimation. The Cleveland Clinic says about one percent of people with broken hearts have died, meaning a heartbreak can lead to death.
A breakup candy to death people can die. From the pain of losing a loved one, it happens in real not just in books and movies. A study recently concluded that women aged 50 to 74 are more likely to suffer from heartbreaks.
This compared to younger women and men of all ages. So we decided to find out why it's not like 60-year-old women are dating more than teenagers or 70-year-olds are getting ghosted or blocked on WhatsApp more than people in their 20s. So why are they vulnerable so vulnerable to heartbreaks.
What we found, when seen medically heartbreak is about sudden physical or emotional stress and this stress goes on to affect your heart's normal rhythm, even the pattern, of your heartbeats. Your heart then temporarily enlarges; there is a temporary heart muscle failure. The post result is that you start feeling chest pain and this can happen within minutes or up to hours of a stressful event. This is the numbing pain we often refer to as the pain of heartbreak.
Stress happens, especially these days, and especially for women. A serious physical consequence of high stress - broken heart syndrome – is on the rise among women over 50. Here’s a reminder to find moments of me-time to lower your stress: Take a walk, meditate, or just breathe. pic.twitter.com/4lg6jYsbef
— GoRedforWomen (@GoRedForWomen) October 21, 2021
This medical pain, when added to the mental pain, can seem blinding, difficult to cope with.
What makes older women more vulnerable is not toxic dating but a chemical called estrogen. It is supposed to protect a woman's heart from hormones released during stressful events, but as women age, the level of estrogen in the body declines. So even a not so stressful event can trigger heartbreak. The death of an acquaintance, for instance, can feel like the death of a near and dear one. Divorce in a family can feel like your own divorce.
The study published in the journal of American heart association found that 88 of heartbreak patients were women, most of them were 50 or older. Cases of heartbreak increased 10 percent for women in the age bracket of 50 to 74.
So this is the science, behind the pain of heartbreak. Next time you feel that your heart is broken. You can take care of yourself; you can take the time out to heal. Do whatever makes you feel better, heal your broken heart with a tub of ice cream if that works or a movie marathon or go to a doctor. If required experts say yoga or journaling also helps.
What we know now is that there is such a thing called a broken heart and it is real.