Losing a loved one can trigger heart attack: Study

NEW DELHI: Melodramatic Bollywood films have shown it for years. Now, there is scientific evidence to back it. Sudden grief - arising out of losing a loved one -- can have a serious effect on your heart. A study published in the journal 'Circulation' has found that a person's risk of suffering a heart attack increases by around 21 times in the first 24 hours after losing a loved one. 

The study also found that the risk of heart attack remained eight times above normal during the first week after the death of a loved one, slowly declined, but remained elevated for at least a month. Researchers interviewed around 2,000 patients who suffered myocardial infarctions or heart attacks, over a five-year period. Patients were asked a series of questions about potentially triggering events, including losing someone close to them in the past year. Lead author Elizabeth Mostofsky from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre said, "Bereavement and grief are associated with increased feelings of depression, anxiety and anger. These have been shown to be associated with increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Changes in the blood that make it more likely to clot leads to a heart attack." Dr Ashok Seth, chairman of Escorts Heart Research Centre, said, "Hormones like catecholamines are released at the time of grief. This increases heart rate and clotting. It also constricts the arteries, all of which cause a heart attack." According to Dr Seth, during grief, heart rate can go up from 80 beats per minute to almost 130 beats per minute. "Most heart attacks occur due to clotting of a pre-existing blockage," he added. Catecholamines are hormones produced by the adrenal glands, which are found on top of the kidneys. They are released into the blood during times of physical or emotional stress. The major catecholamines are dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (which used to be called adrenalin). While there is widespread anecdotal evidence that the death of a loved one can lead to declining health in survivors, few studies have looked at the acute effect of bereavement and grief on myocardial infarction. Mostofsky thinks that being aware of the heightened risk can go a long way toward "breaking the link between the loss of someone close and the heart attack". She said, "Physicians, patients and families should be aware of this risk and make sure that someone experiencing grief is getting their physical and medical needs met." She added, "And if an individual develops symptoms that we're concerned might reflect the beginnings of heart attack, we really need to take it very seriously and make sure that that patient gets appropriate evaluation and care."