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Medical professionals argue that "heartbreak" should be counted as a diagnosis
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Unfortunately, many people sometimes face the loss of loved ones or disappointment in love - this condition is usually called a "broken heart". A person feels devastated, "crushed", he "can't breathe" from numerous experiences. Scientists are worried about this, and there are many reasons for this: after such violent emotions, the heart's work becomes much more difficult.
Pain in the soul, stress, loss of a loved one - such experiences can "break the heart" in the literal sense. This is exactly what cardiologists think.
Doctors have even given a name to broken heart syndrome. In medical circles, it is called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The essence of this disease is that after a severe shock, myocardial contractility weakens. If this syndrome is left unattended, it can later result in a heart attack or cardiac insufficiency.
There are even some statistics. For example, it is known that parents who experience the loss of their baby have a fourfold risk of dying within 10 years after the loss. Similar conclusions were made during various studies, in which experts tried to determine how the loss of a “soul mate” affects later life. The cause of a “broken heart” is not only related to psychological stress. When experiencing, a person’s immunity weakens, the development of inflammatory processes is potentiated, and the risk of complications after common colds increases. People under stress are more likely to get injured and get into accidents – mainly due to constant distracting thoughts and impaired concentration.
Doctors note that often a person after experiencing stress can have a completely normal appearance. Moreover, he himself can claim that he has fully recovered from his suffering. The person performs ordinary everyday activities, works, communicates with other people and even smiles. However, in fact, significant pathological processes occur in his body and brain - in medicine, this condition is called "smiling depression". This disease - and this is precisely a disease - is difficult to detect, and even more so, to cure. After all, the patient hides his illness, putting on a specific "mask of a prosperous person." In fact, he is gnawed by incredible melancholy, up to the appearance of suicidal tendencies.
Most medical professionals are confident that if a person has suffered from broken heart syndrome, he or she should be observed by a cardiologist and psychotherapist for at least a year.
The results of the study were published in the British Medical Journal and distributed by BBC Health.