Broken Heart Syndrome

Broken heart syndrome -- not just an invention of romance novelists. Takotusbo cardiomyopathy, or sudden heart failure linked to extreme stress, is also known as broken heart syndrome and is most prevalent in post-menopausal women. The heart receives a flood of stress hormones that causes ballooning of the left ventricle, chest pains, shortness of breath, and an irregular heartbeat. An especially stressful physical or emotional situation, such as a traumatic injury or the sudden death of a family member, can set off an attack.

Richard and I have joked that we want to die at the same moment at the age of 90 while scuba diving of Grand Cayman Island. Neither one of us wants to survive the other for very long. What follows is a sad-sweet story of a long-term partners who died minutes apart from each other.

"James and Marjorie Landis of Westmont, Pa., were married and inseparable for 65 years. They died this week just 88 minutes apart.

Marjorie, 87, passed away Monday after a long illness.

James, 88, died an hour and 28 minutes later of a heart attack. He was at his wife's side when she died.

"The last thing he said to her was, 'It's OK. I love you. We had many good years goether. I will see you real soon,'" said the couple's granddaughter, Erin Miller.

'I just think he died of a broken heart. I don’t think they could have lived apart from each other.'

The cause of the death of bereaved longtime spouses, the study found, can be a condition known as takotusbo cardiomyopathy or sudden heart failure linked to an emotional experience. Some experts have dubbed the condition 'broken heart syndrome.'"