Help Loved Ones By Understanding Broken Heart Syndrome
Steps To Helping Loved Ones
Effects of Death on Surviving Partner
I have a friend who recently lost her husband to cancer, and she has had multiple medical procedures over the past few weeks. I also remember when my father passed away, my mother was hospitalized with serious heart problems twice within the first few weeks of my father’s death.
Broken heart syndrome is a heart condition that’s often brought on by stressful situations and extreme emotions. Research has shown that death or certainly illness can happen to a surviving spouse. Early death may occur for the survivor, which is referred to as the “widowhood effect”. This has been true for men and women around the world according to a study the NIH completed.
Medical Study Results
One research trial followed 373,189 elderly people and found between 30% to 90% of surviving spouses had serious health problems within 90 days, then the percentage dropped to 15%. People that have been in a very long marriage will have a more pronounced effect.
According to another recent study by Harvard, an individual losing their spouse has a 66% increased chance of dying within three months, and men have a slightly greater risk…