Study authors found the chance of a heart attack was 21 times higher than normal within the first day of death, and still almost six times higher within the first week, ABC News reported.
Studies have documented "broken heart syndrome," called takotsubo, described as a condition in which heart attacks occur in the face of abrupt, stressful news or events.
According to the Mayo Clinic website, broken heart syndrome is "a temporary heart condition brought on by stressful situations, such as the death of a loved one."
People with broken heart syndrome may have sudden chest pain or think they're having a heart attack... In broken heart syndrome, a part of your heart temporarily enlarges and doesn't pump well, while the remainder of the heart functions normally or with even more forceful contractions.
Broken heart syndrome is more common among older women, but in the latest study, the grieving heart attack survivors were mostly younger men. Dr. Cindy Grines, vice president of academic and clinical affairs at the Detroit Medical Center Cardiovascular Institute, noted that many of them had more typical causes of heart attack, such as ruptured plaques or blood clots in their arteries, and might not have experienced classic takotsubo, when heart attacks usually occur with no typical causes.
But she said she doesn't doubt that many of their heart attacks might have been tied to grief.
"I have had several patients come in with heart attacks shortly after the death of a spouse," Grines said, including a 38-year-old man who reported chest pains shortly after witnessing the death of his wife.
The man delayed treatment to make funeral arrangements, and when he finally went to the hospital, he had a major blood clot in his artery. "If he had been seen early, started on aspirin and other medications, this clot would not have become so large," Grines said.
Mostofsky said such cases might be typical among grief-stricken people, who might stop taking medications, delay treatment or dismiss heart attack warning signs after the death of a loved one.
"Although they may be experiencing the symptoms of loss, they shouldn't attribute symptoms to stress alone," Mostofsky said. "They should take this seriously and realize these could be symptoms of a heart attack and they should seek care."
The study notes that grief-related heart attack is still a relatively rare occurrence, compared with other triggers such as physical activity or episodes of anger. But Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said doctors should take it into consideration when they are treating patients.
"It is sufficiently common that practitioners should be sensitized to its likelihood," Yancy said. "We should not miss those treatment opportunities as a means of preventing this clustering of events."
Heart attack symptoms include chest discomfort, stomach pain, shortness of breath, nausea and lightheadedness, according to the American Heart Association. Patients with such symptoms should report them immediately.
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