Family members death can be fatal for heart failure patients Study

According to a recent study, heart failure patients who face grief due to a close family member's death are at higher risk of death, particularly during the first week of demise. Heart failure (HF) affects more than 64 million individuals worldwide. Previous study findings suggest that depression, anxiety and low social support are associated with poor prognosis in HF patients. Many studies have also been conducted to confirm the relationship between severe emotional stress and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as “broken heart syndrome”. This study is one of the first to investigate the association between bereavement and HF risk. A total of 58,949 study participants experienced bereavement during the mean 3.7 years of follow-up. The study authors analysed whether the relationship to the deceased, cause of death or time passed since death affected HF mortality risk.