Grief burdens the heart

Rising heart attack risk through grief: sadness brings the heart from the clock

11/15/2010

The grief over the loss of a loved one literally strains the heart. Therefore, survivors should pay particular attention to their heart and counteract the increased risk with preventive measures. Australian researchers have found that the death of a loved one burdens not only the psyche but also the body of the bereaved. Some time after the death of a particularly close person, such as a life partner or own child, the heart rate of mourners is measurably increased.

Grief - mental and physical stress
It has long been undisputed in the medical community that survivors are subject to a significantly increased risk of myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death. However, what has been clearly demonstrated by older studies and medical statistics has so far been insufficiently scientifically explained. Here, study director Thomas Buckley and his research colleagues from the University of Sydney have begun their investigation to uncover the causes of the increased risk of heart attack and to clarify the period over which the effects of grief on the heart persist.

78 Survivors extensively medically examined
The Australian scientists investigated 78 survivors (55 men, 23 women) between the ages of 33 and 91, who had to cope with the loss of their life partner or their own child. Two weeks after the stroke of fate and six months after that, the health of the test subjects was scrutinized, including with the help of a 24-hour heart rate monitor. In addition, the susceptibility of subjects to anxiety attacks and clinical depression has been extensively studied. The control group used was a corresponding number of volunteers who had not experienced comparable bereavement.

Increased heart rate due to bereavement
When examined two weeks after the loss of the loved one, the heart of the bereaved averaged 75.1 times per minute versus 70.7 times in the control group. Accordingly, the average heart rate increased by almost five beats per minute. In addition, the study found that bereaved families had nearly twice as many stages with a very rapid heartbeat (more than 100 beats per minute) shortly after bereavement as controls. Anxiety attacks and clinically treated depression were also much more frequent in the mourners than in the control group. In the subsequent examination six months after the bereavement, the heart rate of the bereaved had returned to normal and the risk of anxiety attacks and depression had clearly decreased. However, the anxiety attacks and depressions did not fall back to the normal level of the control group, but their number always remained elevated.

To spare the heart in mourning
Their study, according to study director Thomas Buckley at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Chicago, found that there is a link between the loss of close-to-the-heart individuals and altered cardiac function, ultimately leading to an increased risk of heart attack. Therefore, according to the experts, during the mourning period, the survivors should pay more attention to their hearts and take appropriate precautionary measures. Risk factors such as increased stress, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking should be reduced or at best avoided altogether. The Australian researchers emphasize that further studies on the exact relationship between grief and heart disease would have the potential to form the basis for more effective preventive measures in the future. (Fp)

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