Losing a partner can make you heartbroken but there is more to heartbreak than just loneliness. People who have lost their partner apparently become more at risk of suffering from heart attacks.
In a new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine Feb. 24, researchers analyzed the data of more than 30,000 adults who were between the ages 60 and 89 who lost their partner between the years 2005 and 2012. They also tracked 83,000 adults of the same age range who were still with their partner during the same period.
The researchers found that 0.16 percent of the subjects who lost their partner experienced heart attack or stroke within 30 days of their partner's death albeit the risk decreased after 30 days. Of the subjects whose partners were alive, only 0.08 percent experienced heart attack and stroke.
"Our study shows the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke doubles in the crucial 30-day period after a partner's death for those experiencing loss of a loved one," study author Sunil Shah, a senior lecturer in public health at St. George's University of London in England, told HealthDay.
Martha Grogan, from the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that the results of the study show proof of the special link between mind and body.
"Most people are somewhat aware that stress can have a physiological effect," she said. "But we think it has something to do with how emotional factors cause arterial instability, by increasing the risk that the plaque we all have to some degree will start to block the arteries."
The findings of the study also cemented the idea that bereavement increases the risks of death because of the physiological implications of grief.
"We have described a marked increase in cardiovascular risk in the month after spousal bereavement, which seems likely to be the result of adverse physiological responses associated with acute grief," the researchers wrote. "A better understanding of psychosocial factors associated with acute cardiovascular events may provide opportunities for prevention and improved clinical care."
The researchers also noted the importance of knowing the risks of heart attacks and strokes among those who have just lost a loved one.
"We think it is important that doctors, friends and family are aware of this increased risk of heart attacks and strokes so they can ensure care and support is as good as possible at a time of increased vulnerability before and after loss of a loved one," Shah said.
