Heart break

Losing a loved one can really break your heart. In fact, the risk of an attack is significantly higher on the first day of bereavement itself, say researchers. A study has found that the death of a loved one makes you up to 21 times more likely to suffer a heart attack within a day of your loss; and during the first week of bereavement, the risk is almost six times higher than normal. However, the risk slowly declines during the month that follows, says the study published in Journal of the American Heart Association.

Psychological stress caused by intense grief can increase heart rate, blood pressure and blood-clotting, which in the short-term can raise the chances of a heart attack, say the researchers.

Dr Murray Mittleman of Harvard Medical School said, "Caretakers, healthcare providers, and the bereaved themselves need to recognise they are in a period of heightened risk in the days and weeks after hearing of someone close dying." For the study, the researchers reviewed health charts and interviewed 1,985 patients while in hospital after a confirmed heart attack between 1989 and 1994. — PTI