The Husband of a Ulvalde School Teacher Died of Broken Heart Syndrome. Here’s What That Is
Sadly, sometimes tragedy leads to more tragedy.
Tragically, the husband of a teacher senselessly murdered during the Uvalve, Texas school shooting passed away 2 day lter.
News sources originally said he had a heart attack, but speculation is that he may have died of broken heart syndrome, a rare condition that mimics a heart attack.
We’ve all heard references to having a broken heart, but we don’t think of it as killing us — but it can.
In clinical practice, I have seen two cases of broken heart syndrome. Both survived. Unfortunately, the husband of the Ulvalde school teacher did not.
What is Broken Heart Syndrome?
Broken heart syndrome is known in the medical community as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo syndrome.
This is a condition where a person’s heart “weakens” in response to stress and may beat erratically. Emotional stress, like a family member dying, is a common trigger for this rare condition.
Broken heart syndrome can happen during or after trauma like an unexpected death, a tragedy such as a house fire, or any other stressful event that causes extreme…
