Source: Photo Credit: Pixabay, free image As we are close to Valentine’s Day, it seems fitting to pay tribute not only to love and romance but also to acknowledge the reality of heartbreak, for which there is actually a medical term: broken heart syndrome. The passing of Debbie Reynolds (age 84) a day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher (age 60) has prompted interest in this term. We are all familiar with the phrase “broken heart” as a way of expressing the pain and suffering caused by the loss of a loved one. But we are unlikely to take this metaphor literally. Well, now it seems that we can. As Benedict Carey, in his New York Times article, explains, the Japanese first observed this phenomenon, which manifests as a heart attack, but generally resolves itself when properly treated. The Japanese named this condition “Takotsubo syndrome,” derived from their word for octopus trap, “because the heart looks as if it’s caught from below, its upper chambers ballooning as if trying to escape.” Graphic and frightening, though generally not fatal. What happens, according to Carey, is that the shock of a sudden loss triggers a flood of stress hormones,… Read full this story
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Broken Heart Syndrome: Debbie Reynolds and Me have 383 words, post on www.psychologytoday.com at February 10, 2017. This is cached page on Drudgereport. If you want remove this page, please contact us.