Valentine's Day season is always an exciting time of year, but it can also be very stressful if you've recently experienced the pain of a breakup or divorce. For some people, that stress can even result in Broken Heart Syndrome, or an actual physical condition with symptoms similar to heart attack symptoms and chest pains caused by emotional stress instead of physical stress on the heart from high blood pressure or cholesterol. The good news? If a person has this condition, there are ways to prevent it from happening in the first place.
Broken Heart Syndrome is an actual medical condition, also called by different names (stress cardiomyopathy, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, apical ballooning syndrome). While this condition is rare in its occurrence, there are people who have been hospitalized due to its similar symptoms of a real heart attack. Common symptoms to watch out for are chest pain and difficulty in breathing. It’s brought on when a person is exposed to intense physical or emotional stress. Broken Heart Syndrome is more common in women than men.
The Impact of Emotional Stress on Heart Health
It is believed that intense emotional stresses, whether good or bad, will cause an increase in catecholamine hormones (epinephrine and Norepinephrine). An increase in these hormones can cause spasms of the arteries in the heart and will give a person the feeling of having a heart attack. Although life stressors are routine, major events like death in the family, grief, anxiety, panic, interpersonal conflicts like breakups, employment issues, sickness (COVID-19), and surgeries could cause heartbreak. Some of the common symptoms to watch for are.
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Passing out
- Palpitation (racing heart)
There are also very serious symptoms like heart failure, confusion, and cold extremities, but these symptoms are rare.
How to Avoid Being Heartbroken
Stay healthy by exercising, eating proper food including fruits and vegetables, and using proper supplements like Balance7. Especially at this time of the year, we all need to practice a little bit of caution and give the good and, especially, the bad news gently so we can avoid a broken heart.
For more information on broken heart syndrome and other medical conditions, visit www.balance7.com