--- title: Broken Heart Syndrome: How Loss Hurts Your Health description: People who lose a partner are at risk for heart problems for up to a year, a new large study shows canonical: https://time.com/4283739/broken-heart-syndrome-marriage-death/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-08T15:34:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:57.449Z article:section: Health og:title: How Heartbreak Can Hurt Your Actual Heart og:description: Sad, but true og:url: https://time.com/4283739/broken-heart-syndrome-marriage-death/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbeb5e747c8c6797d/69888e08cd1bba3a85700210/human-heart-health-illustration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: human-heart-health-illustration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Heartbreak Can Hurt Your Actual Heart twitter:description: Sad, but true twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbeb5e747c8c6797d/69888e08cd1bba3a85700210/human-heart-health-illustration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Getting Your Heart Broken Hurts Your Physical Heart > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=52f635c5-8ab6-4961-aaa5-0b68cca717a0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Study Says Marriage Is Good For Your Heart ... Literally [Watch (HLS stream): Study Says Marriage Is Good For Your Heart ... Literally](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UIMQThkY.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2015-10-29. A new study says being married increases your chances for a better recovery after heart surgery._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Apr 8, 2016 3:34 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Apr 8, 2016 3:34 PM UTC A growing body of research is showing that the [death or loss of a person close to you](http://time.com/3706692/do-married-people-really-live-longer/) can not only feel like heartbreak—it can actually cause physical changes that can lead to serious heart problems. A [new study](http://openheart.bmj.com/content/3/1/e000367.full) finds that people whose partner dies are at a significantly higher risk for atrial fibrillation, or irregular heart beat, and that the effects are lasting. Researchers have long studied a phenomena called stress cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome, which is when a highly stressful event, such as the death of a spouse, causes a person to feel like they’re having heart attack. This can include shortness of breath and chest pain, but without the telltale blocked arteries. Experts suspect a surge of stress hormones that are trigged by an emotional event could be responsible. In the new study, published in the journal _Open Heart_, the researchers looked at whether losing a partner could also contribute to a higher risk for atrial fibrillation, and if so, how big that risk is. The team looked at a national registry in Denmark of 88,600people who were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. They found that people who had lost a partner were 41% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation in the first month after losing their partner compared to people who hadn’t. A higher risk for the condition continued for a year. They also found that the risk was especially high for younger people, and in people whose partner died suddenly or unexpectedly. “This study adds evidence to the growing knowledge that the mind-heart link is a powerful association and further examination is warranted,” says study author Simon Graff, a researcher in the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University. “Broken heart syndrome is a different disease with a whole other pathology, but some of the pathophysiological mechanisms might be the same. \[Like\] surges in hormones that facilitates inflammation and imbalance in the uncontrollable parts of our central nervous system.” Harmony Reynolds, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center has also studied the relationship between stress and the heart says the link is well recognized in the medical community, but what can be done about it is still under investigation. “We can’t stop stressful situations from coming up in our lives but there may be ways to change the way stress affects our bodies,” she says. “Several things can increase parasympathetic nervous system activity, such as regular exercise, meditation, yoga and deep breathing. These activities all have other health benefits anyway—especially exercise—so they are easy to recommend even though I can’t be at all sure that they could affect risk.” Reynolds was not involved in this study. **Quiz**: [_We Can Guess Your Major Based on Your Style_](http://motto.time.com/4461770/whats-my-major-based-on-my-style/) Sometimes the condition isn’t spurred by grief, but other stressful situations, like the excitement that can accompany a big sports win. The new study, while large, cannot confirm that the feelings of loss directly caused atrial fibrillation among those in the study. Still, it’s not the first to suggest that severe life stressors can spur problems in the heart. “Right now our work can only point to an association, but we hope to help make a shift in society’s mindset—that a time of grief is not only a mental state but maybe also physical,” says Graff. ## Transcript Talk about marriage being good for the heart, literally. A new study found marriage can ease your recovery after heart surgery. The study was published Wednesday in the journal JAMA surgery. It claims patients who were married did significantly better than those who were divorced Widowed or separated, but not better than those who had never been married. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania used data from a University of Michigan study of more than 1, 500 adults over the age of 50 who had undergone heart surgery. The researchers said those who were divorced, widowed or separated were 40 % more likely to die. Die after heart surgery or develop a new disability within two years after the surgery. The researchers looked at how well the patients could perform everyday activities like dressing eating and taking showers without help. Study co author Mark Newman said the reason for the link between marriage and better heart surgery recovery remains unknown, but it may help doctors identify who may need more support after surgery. We should note that for the patients who had never been married Had about the same chances of successful recovery than people who were married. Granted, the unmarried patients only accounted for 2 % of the study participants, while the married patients accounted for 65 %. Doctor Asheesh Scholl is the head of heart transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Shaw says the recent findings echo other studies that found married patients do better after surgery. Shaw says the recent findings echo other studies that found married patients do better after surgery. 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