BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

This has happened to me about three times in my life - but in March 2004 when I went to the E.R. with chest pain, vomitting and faintness - the doctors finally gave it a name. STRESS CARDIOMYOPATHY. I am taking measures to see that this trauma is never visited on me again. The sudden shock of losing a loved one can cause classic heart attack-like symptoms of a broken heart, doctors say. Tragic events have been known to produce symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lung, but no one knew why. In a new study, researchers show stress cardiomyopathy, the "broken heart syndrome" triggered by sudden emotional shock, is real. Unlike in a true heart attack in which the heart muscle is damaged permanently, those who suffer from the syndrome recover in two weeks or less after receiving fluids and bedrest. In contrast, heart attack victims partially recover in weeks or months. In the study, doctors at Johns Hopkins University used sophisticated te...

Lovesickness can kill and should be taken more seriously as a legitimate diagnosis, according to health experts. Frank Tallis, a clinical psychologist in London, is among those calling for greater awareness of the "illness" in a report in The Psychologist magazine. He said many are "destabilised by falling in love, or suffer on account of their love being unrequited" and this could lead to a suicide attempt. Few studies deal with the "specific problem of lovesickness", he said. Physical exhaustion Prof Alex Gardner, a clinical psychologist in Glasgow and a member of the British Psychological Society, agreed that doctors needed to be more aware of lovesickness as a possible diagnosis. He said: "People can die from a broken heart. You get into a state of despair and hopelessness." He said as a result of love, in some people it could lead to an extreme state of physical exhaustion. In extreme cases lovesickness could drive people to take their ow...