Burlington, Vermont - January 12, 2012
A new study shows the death of a loved one can literally be heartbreaking or at least can cause a heart attack. In fact, the results show the rate of heart attack is 21 times higher than normal within the first 24 hours after the death of someone close.
That doesn't necessarily mean death for all of those heart attack victims, some can have blocked arteries propped open or bypassed. But cardiologists at Fletcher Allen Health Care point to the stressors that can harm people, such as depression, anger, and anxiety. People also tend to lose sleep and their appetite when someone dies. And according to the study, it is not just a surviving spouse who might be at risk.
"It's been known before that the death of a spouse can be associated with a higher risk of having a heart attack. I think the novelty of this study is that it also extended to other people in your immediate surroundings that you're close to. So it's not just the death of a spouse that can induce a heart attack," said Dr. Friederike Keating, a cardiologist at Fletcher Allen Health Care.
Brothers, sisters, parents and friends all showed a higher risk of a heart attack following a person's death. And of course, those people who were already at risk showed an even higher rate of attack-- 1 in 320 versus 1 in nearly 1,400 people.
The study was recently published in the journal Circulation.
