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While many think of a broken heart as a metaphorical state, it is in fact a recognised condition; one known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy. The condition is also known as “broken heart syndrome”.
It is this condition that one doctor, a Dr Deb Cohen-Jones says may have played a role in the death of the Queen. Dr Cohen-Jones said: “There is no strict science around it. But it’s definitely an observed phenomenon. It’s more about losing your ‘will’ than it is about your health in some ways.”
On how this applied to the Queen, Dr Cohen-Jones explained: “From a physiological point of view, the loss of Prince Philip would have caused her severe stress, peaking her cortisol levels, and leaving her body to deal with that.”
Cortisol is the hormone released by the body when it is stressed; in significant quantities it can cause damage to the body and increase the risk of a number of conditions. Stress is not just a psychological, but a physiological threat.
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Meanwhile, heart surgeon Nikki Stamp said that grief can be one experience which results in high levels of stress and thus the release of cortisol into the body.
Stamp said: “What we know is that for some people the stress of losing a loved one, or any kind of stressful event in your life, does precipitate a whole bunch of reactions in the physical body as well as in your mind that can cause disease and sometimes cause someone to pass away.
Stamp added: “It’s certainly something that we’re discovering more and more lately.”
On how grief will have impacted the monarch, her ex-footman of 11 years Paul Burrell said: “She sorely, desperately missed him and he’s waiting for her in St George’s chapel in Windsor and she will be beside him very soon. She will go to the other side and meet her parents and her sister. There are more people on the other side than there are on this.”
At the moment, there is no evidence to say this is the case and thus no reason to state it as such. Until an official announcement is made as to the cause of death, one can only wait.
What is certain is that the loss of Prince Philip would have had a profound effect on the Queen, as it has on every person who loses a loved one.
According to the organisation Heart, the most common symptoms of broken heart syndrome (BHS) include:
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Abnormal heartbeats
• Cardiogenic shock.
Cardiogenic shock occurs when a suddenly weakened heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body; it is one of the most common causes of heart attacks.
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While they share similar symptoms, BHS and heart attacks are very separate conditions. For example, on an EKG the results look different for someone experiencing BHS to another experiencing a heart attack.
An EKG is a test used to record the heart’s electric activity. Also known as an ECG, it’s used to diagnose conditions affecting the heart; patients tested will have sensors attached to their chest and extremities.
Meanwhile, other differences between BHS and a heart attack appear in blood tests which, if it’s BHS, will show no signs of heart damage. Furthermore, tests will show ballooning in an unusual movement of the lower left heart chamber.
Alongside this, physiological time from BHS is a few days or weeks in comparison with months for a heart attack. However, this is only physiological recovery.
Psychological recovery is a different matter entirely and in this regard there is no barometer or guidance, some never recover at all from the loss of a partner.
As most people will sadly know, loss and grief are not physiological conditions for which there is a prescription. They may cause physiological symptoms, but they are heart fractures and wounds in someone’s life which can take decades to heal.
Although she was a head of state, the Queen was a human nonetheless, and one who lost someone who had been at her side for over 70 years.
Thus, while it cannot be said that a broken heart caused her death, it would be amiss to say that it did not have an impact on her, if not physically, then psychologically.
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