Scientists have discovered why losing a loved one really may break your heart. Researchers found extreme emotional stress triggers a 'storm' of the immune system which overwhelms the heart.
'Broken heart syndrome' - a condition thought to affect 6,000 people in Britain each year - occurs when acute distress causes the heart muscles to temporarily shut down.
Most of these cases are caused by sudden emotional shocks, often involving a bereavement or the breakdown of a relationship.
Officially known as Takotsubo syndrome, symptoms include shortness of breath and chest pain - and as such it is often mistaken for a heart attack. However, unlike a heart attack, patients do not suffer from a blockage of the arteries that supply the heart with blood.
Instead, there is temporary weakening of the heart muscles and the left ventricle - the main pumping chamber - balloons in shape meaning it cannot properly push blood around the body.
When scientists in Japan first discovered the problem 30 years ago they thought the ventricle formed a similar shape to an octopus pot - or 'takotsubo' in Japanese - with a narrow neck and a round bottom.
But until now experts have been unsure what exactly caused this to happen.
The new research, by experts at the universities of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, reveals that the heart is attacked by the body's own immune system.
The study, published in the Circulation medical journal, also showed that signs of the attack were still present five months later, which explains why some people remain unwell for a long time.
The team believes their discovery may eventually pave the way for anti-inflammatory treatments to help treat the problem.
