Sudden Broken Heart Syndrome

Have you ever heard of Sudden Broken Heart Syndrome? It is a medically-recognized condition where people collapse with the stress of hearing sudden good or bad news. Apparently, women are much more likely to be affected by this syndrome than men are.  The results of such a collapse are not good – heart attack-like symptoms that can take weeks to recover from, and, in rare cases, death. So, those stories you hear of a woman getting bad news and collapsing are more true than not. Researchers are trying to figure out why this syndrome affects women more often than men and think it might have to do with heart size and the amount of stress hormones flooding the body.

It all reminds me of Kate Chopin’s famous story “The Story of an Hour,” which I’ve linked here for you. It takes about 3 minutes to read – so go ahead and enjoy it.

"The Story of an Hour"

Then, if you’re still curious, check out the link about Sudden Broken Heart Syndrome and see what you think. Perhaps there is sense in the notion that people should sit down and breathe deeply before getting big news?

Sudden Broken Heart Syndrome