Heart Break Syndrome


Throughout life you may feel a hurtful heart
Through loss & sadness or someone departs
These past situations cannot be changed
The present outcome can’t be rearranged
You need to sit and feel the pain
To cry and talk and clear your brain
Release the feelings deep inside
Don’t hold them in and try to hide
Let go and speak your anger and hurt
If not in time it will divert
From being a deep emotional lapse
To becoming a physical heart collapse
By Peta Zafir
Peta Zafir

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We have all heard the stories of one person in a marriage dying and then another one dying quickly after them. I call it Heart Break Syndrome and the medical profession calls it Broken Heart Syndrome. It is also called stress-induced cardiomyopathy or Takotsubo syndrome and typically occurs following severe emotional or physically stressful traumatic events, such as losing a loved one, divorce, car accidents, bad fights, abuse, near-drowning experiences, and many more.

The heart muscle becomes suddenly stunned or weakened. This condition may be temporary and most people who have broken heart syndrome quickly recover and don’t have long-lasting effects. But sometimes the condition reoccurs; this is called recurrent takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Broken heart syndrome rarely causes death however research has shown that in extreme cases, some who experience a broken heart may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

When you experience depression, anxiety, or stress your heart rate and blood pressure rise, there’s reduced blood flow to the heart and your body produces higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Over time, these effects can lead to heart disease, angina (chest pain), shortness of breath, arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), or cardiogenic shock may also occur even if you have no history of heart disease. Studies have found that crying helps lower both your blood pressure and heart rate, by activating your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you relax.

Psychological thought largely agrees that the role of crying is a mechanism that allows the release of stress and emotional pain. Crying is an important safety valve, largely because keeping difficult feelings inside; called repressive coping, can be bad for our health. What I have found over the years is that if you don’t deal with your pain Now, Today, then what is emotional and mental stress on the heart in time will become an actual Physical Heart condition.

If you have experienced shock, trauma, loss, sadness, emotional pain, or any other distress or ordeal, I would recommend you talk with someone and great it out, clear it out, and release it. The Event may never be forgotten however the pain connection can be transformed.

Our Clients are Our Focus and Your Health is our Concern
Peta Zafir (Owner and Head Therapist)