Australian researchers found people mourning a loss of a loved one can die of a broken heart. In fact, the researchers found mourning the loss of a loved one increases your risk of having a heart attack 600%.

Grieving people are at significantly higher risk of heart problems, according to a Heart Foundation study of the physical changes suffered immediately after a profound loss, lead researcher Thomas Buckley said on Tuesday.

“We found higher blood pressure, increased heart rate and changes to immune system and clotting that would increase the risk of heart attack,” Buckley said.

Half of the 160 people studied were mourning the loss of a partner or child, and their risk of heart attack increased six-fold, he said. The risk, which was evident in people as young as 30, reduced after six months and leveled out after two years.

A sudden flood of stress hormones is believed to be behind the grief-induced heartache, a condition that earlier studies have found is more likely to affect women.

Newsmax.com Health Alerts