The phrase “dying of a broken heart” isn’t just a phrase. According to a new research study, there may be some truth to it. The study published in the European Heart Journal studied the sensation known as "broken heart syndrome" into detail As it turns out, severe emotional stress like heartbreak may actually affect your brain and, in turn, your body.
Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a condition that is characterized by a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscles. Colloquially it is referred to as "broken heart" syndrome as the symptoms (which include chest pain and shortness of breath—and sometimes heart attack) usually appear shortly after severe emotional stress like heartbreak after a breakup or death of a loved one, in addition to other types of extreme sadness, anger, or fear.
The research team included both neuroscientists and cardiologists who compared MRI brain scans from 15 TTS patients with those of 39 healthy patients. The team specifically looked at the amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus, three areas of the brain involved in emotional processing, motivation, and memory and that are regularly in communication with each other. The amygdala and cingulate gyrus also handle certain unconscious bodily functions like the heartbeat and breathing. And collectively, these brain regions are also the same ones that control our response to stress.
The findings said that patients with TTS—that is, people who are having a physical reaction to emotional stress—there's a breakdown in communication between these regions of the brain. These patients essentially exhibit a misfire in these brain regions controlling both emotional processing and automatic bodily processes.
"[This finding] strongly supports the idea that the brain is involved in the underlying mechanism of TTS," Christian Templin, a cardiology professor at University Hospital Zurich and the study's lead researcher, said in a news release. "Emotional and physical stress is strongly associated with TTS, and it has been hypothesized that the overstimulation of the autonomic nervous system may lead to TTS events."
To simplify, certain parts of the brain that are involved with emotions are also required for involuntary bodily functions, like keeping the heart beating. Hence, the effects of an extremely emotional event can trickle down from mind to body. Although TTS has long been associated with emotional stress, researchers can now confirm the mind-body connection.
What can we take away from this? Our emotions play a huge role in our physical health as well. Hence, it is important to take care of one’s holistic as well as physical health.
The biggest takeaway from this study is that our emotions have a much greater toll on our physical health than we realize, which is why it's important
