WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Researchers study 'Broken Heart Syndrome'

It can take a long time to heal from the pain and sadness of a broken heart. But heart experts warn that for some people, it can be very real, and actually do damage to the heart.

Vera Compagnino was cheering her son on at his football game when she felt a sharp pain. "It started from the middle of my chest and went all the way up to my shoulders," she said.

She thought she was having a heart attack, but tests showed no arteries were blocked. The 49 year old had been under a lot of pressure. "Stressful, running around, had workers in my house," she said. "My mother had a heart attack."

Doctors determined she was suffering from "Broken Heart Syndrome," a temporary heart condition that emotional stress triggers.

"It is still a form of heart attack," said Dr. Harmony Reynolds with NYU's Langone Medical Center. "The difference here is that the arteries are open and the pump of the heart is just really badly affected, so almost the entire heart is affected

Broken Heart Syndrome affects mostly women and in many cases comes on suddenly after an intense event, like the death of a loved one, or even being surprised.

Doctors at NYU Langone Medical Center are studying the condition and aren't sure why it happens to some people and not others. "Many of the patients have sky high adrenaline levels and other levels of hormones so we think that may be a way that the body is expressing a reaction to stress," Dr. Reynolds said.

Compagnino's heart was damaged, but just like a broken heart -- it healed. She takes heart medication now as a precaution. "It could happen any time of my life, it could not, but it's always in the back of my head -- always," she said.

And she's trying to manage her stress as best she can.  

Randall Pinkston -- CBS News