A broken heart really is bad for your health

Having a broken heart can be really bad for your health – and not just your mental health. There’s even a name for it: “Broken heart syndrome.”

Researchers at the hospital created a registry of 70 patients who were diagnosed with the syndrome between July 2004 and April 2008.

Most of the patients were post-menopausal women who had experienced a very stressful physical or emotional event just before the onset of symptoms. These ranged from bad news about a family member to a domestic argument and even a car accident. All of them arrived at the hospital with heart attack-like symptoms, including chest pain and shortness of breath.