Most of us have experienced a broken heart. But not as many of us have had to go through the pain of Broken Heart Syndrome.According to member station KERA, this potentially serious physical condition was first described 15 years ago. Broken Heart Syndrome is when anxiety badly weakens the heart, and it can make you just as sick as a heart attack.
It occurs in post-menopausal, women, usually in their 60s, who have symptoms otherwise associated with a heart attack. But when these women undergo an angiogram, there are no arterial blockages found. In other words, their heart muscle was weakened due to a sudden episode of emotional stress.
These women are found to have an impaired ability to bring down stress or adrenaline levels after emotional trauma. In fact, the disease can be deadly. It’s not fully known why the condition affects post-menopausal women more than others. But higher estrogen levels are thought to be a factor.