Heartbreak in bereavement can cause death from heart failure
Anxiety about losing a family member increases a person's risk of dying from heart failure. According to studies, the risk of death in patients with heart failure and bereavement reaches 30%. Losing more than one family member slightly increases the rate. The greatest risk occurs within the first week after the loss, but it can extend up to 5 years later.
Heart failure is a very difficult condition and has a poor prognosis compared to most types of cancer. The risk of premature death is thought to be related to stress-induced cardiomyopathy. In this disease called Takotsubo syndrome, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal gland cycle, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, and sympathetic nervous system activations are in question. Chronic stress leads to long-term risks, leading to an unhealthy lifestyle and disruption of the treatment regimen of the disease.
Psychosocial risk factors such as depression and social isolation can increase heart failure. In a new study involving 490,527 patients in Sweden between 2000 and 2018, the risk of death from heart failure was 10% after child loss; 20% with loss of partner or spouse; 13 percent with sibling loss; it was observed as 5% with loss of grandchildren; No increase was observed with loss of parent. It is thought that there is no increase, possibly due to the advanced age of the parents and the persistence of their illness. The link between bereavement and death from cardiovascular disease and death from other natural causes has also been found to be associated with unnatural deaths (such as suicide). It was determined that there was no effect of gender and country of birth.
It is aimed to evaluate the effect of lower stress factors on heart failure in future studies. The authors state that genetic factors, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, and other health-related factors should also be taken into account.
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