In 1633, the English poet John Donne wrote a poem that captured the misery of falling out of love. In “The Broken Heart,” he vividly portrays how the process of losing the heart's desire causes unbearable pain – pain so violent that it consumes the sufferer's insides like a flask of exploding gunpowder; pain so swift that it destroys the body more quickly than the deadliest plague. But is all this merely poetic exaggeration, or is there a medical and chemical effect on the heart and body when love vanishes?
“Not That Love So Soon Decays”: The Mind-Body Connection
Scientists have long suspected that there is a link between the mind, the heart, and the body. Is it possible for negative emotions such as stress or grief to create adverse effects in the body? If so, can falling out of love be hazardous to your health?
A clinical psychologist named Dr. David Nias believes that the answer is "yes." People “can die of a broken heart,” especially if “it is a once-in-a-lifetime romance.” Negative emotions such as anger and depression are known to induce heart ailments, so lingering emotions associated with lost love can affect the figurative heart as well as the physical heart.
“What a Trifle is a Heart,/ If Once Into Love's Hands it Come!”: The Chemistry of Falling In and Out of Love
Falling in love is a powerful emotional process for many – one in which the objects of desire become so idealized that they no longer resemble real people. On a medical level, however, falling in love is a simple matter of endocrinology.
In his book Love Sick, clinical psychologist Frank Tallis theorized that falling in love creates higher levels of phenethylamine (PEA) in the body. PEA is a psychoactive drug that resembles amphetamine, as it stimulates the production of bodily hormones such as adrenalin. In turn, adrenalin creates feelings of exhilaration.
During sex, opium-like substances known as endorphins are produced along with a hormone called oxytocin. According to Crichton-Mille (2005), oxytocin levels rise in men “by three to five times during orgasm,” while those in women increase “even more and seem to climb with every subsequent” climax. Thus, falling in love is addictive because the body behaves as if it is under the influence of a narcotic.
When people fall out of love, PEA levels drop suddenly. Endorphin production slows down, and the pleasurable feelings of excitement disappear. Stress hormones increase, and a cycle of anxiety, sadness, and depression take over. Falling out of love is so overwhelming that it has been given a medical name: cardiomyopathy, or "broken heart syndrome."
“But Us Love Draws; / He Swallows Us”: The Physical Symptoms of Broken Heart Syndrome
The sudden loss of love shocks the body's chemistry and produces a number of intense changes in physical behavior. From a medical standpoint, broken heart syndrome mimics a heart attack.
Typical symptoms of a broken heart include:
- Chest pain;
- Breathing difficulties;
- Fluid in the lungs;
- Elevated adrenalin levels (up to 35 times higher than normal);
- Low blood pressure; and
- Heart irregularities.
According to Naude (2009), broken heart syndrome “can weaken the heart muscle . . . [and] cause . . . clinical heart failure.” If untreated, one out of every three patients will die.
“But Love, Alas! / At One First Blow Did Shiver it as Glass”: Studies on Broken Heart Syndrome
During the last ten years, medical researchers began studying cohorts of patients suffering from broken heart syndrome. Although all patients displayed symptoms resembling a heart attack, none showed any blockage in the coronary arteries or had any history of heart problems. About 60% of all patients, however, had suffered a severe emotional shock before their symptoms started.
In 2006, the Mayo Clinic determined that broken heart syndrome occurred in about 10% of all patients. Dr. Ilan Wittstein at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine claims that broken heart syndrome is primarily a woman's problem, as approximately 90-95% of all patients are women. For women, falling in produces stronger chemical feelings of addiction than in men, so they also suffer more when hormone levels are reduced.
“I Think My Breast Hath All / Those Pieces Still, Though They Be Not Unite”: Surviving Broken Heart Syndrome
People who suffer from broken heart syndrome are “critically ill during the first 48 hours” (SCAI 2007). In fact, it is not uncommon for patients to be in cardiogenic shock or experience complete heart failure during that time. The heart is a pump, and when sudden shock causes the pump to stop normal blood flow, serious consequences follow.
Sufferers who receive prompt medical attention and survive those first 48 hours almost always make a full recovery. In a 2007 study conducted at Brown University, 97% of patients returned to normal heart function within a few weeks.
“My Rags of Heart Can Like, Wish, and Adore / But After One Such Love, Can Love No More”: Recovering from a Broken Heart
From a clinical psychology perspective, people who suffer intense heartache often imagine that the emptiness will go on forever. In reality, the sudden emotional shock does not last, and the body heals. Time, patience, and physical affection from others make the loss seem more remote, the absence less overwhelming, and the willingness to love again a real possibility.
On Sweetest Day weekend, this is may serve as hopeful news for the lovelorn.
References
Crichton-Mille E. 2005 (February 11).Can you die of a broken heart? You Magazine. Published online (MailOnline).
Donne J. 1633. The Broken Heart. In: E.K. Chambers (Ed.) Poems of John Donne (Vol. 1). 1896. London: Lawrence & Bullen.
Naude R. 2009. A broken heart can heart can be terminal: time and healthy living heal the emotional and physical pain of a breakup. The Gazette. Published online (eCanada.com).
Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). 2007 (May 13). Clues To 'Broken Heart Syndrome.' ScienceDaily. Published online.
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