The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. – Albert Einstein




Saturday, March 9, 2013

Anatomy Reading Reaction and Response 3

Can people die of a broken heart? Check this out! In the space below, leave a comment. You should react to the article AS WELL AS your classmates' comments. Feel free to pose questions that will invigorate the conversation.

29 comments:

  1. this article i really didn't care much about because I don't know i just don't like it that much and plus an inflated ventricle has nothing to do with a "broken heart" but I do find it kind of shocking that it mostly happens to women cause of shocking or traumatic situations cause men also experience those types of situations so that is surprising that its mostly in women!

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  2. Malika, I understand where you are coming from but I disagree with you. I found this article interesting and i do believe this actually can happen because when someone you love dies it is a lot of stress and can lead to death. This quote helps support my claim "A 1996 study of 158,000 Finnish couples found the highest incidence rate of excess mortality"(Page 1.)It is also surprising that there was more woman dying than men.
    -Rachel

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    1. yea but its from stress not a broken heart so it doesnt make any sense

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    2. Why can't we be more specific about the stresses that kill us? I agree it fine to attribute "stress" as a cause of death, but how much does that tell us of the true cause of the death. Was it do to a recent financial loss? a loss of a job? repeated racism? a catastrophic storm? or in the case love? It seems more accurate to be specific at times and to come to understand the factors that gave rise to stress and death.

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  3. I agree with Malika, I don't really are for this article. I don't think people can die of a broken heart. There shouldn't be a medical name for this "condition". I think it is just a coincidence that spouses die days/weeks apart, some spouses do and some live on to find another partner

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    1. amen cause this condition makes no sense if the heart is broken then you would just die instantly.. it either needs a different name or just get rid of it all together

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  4. I respectfully disagree with Malika and Adrianna. I think that this article is very interesting because it shows how much someone can be affected by a lost love one. I think it is crazy that you can die of a broken heart. In history class we joke about it, but it's shocking to know that you can actually die from a broken heart. I also disagree with Adrianna that it is a coincidence that the spouses die weeks after because how do they all coincidentally die around the same time? And if we don't use the condition's correct medical term than how would we explain the sudden death of the person? -Kathryn Zablocki

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  6. I agree with Katherine, I found this article to be interesting ad believe that the death of a widow very soon after the death of their spouse can't just be a coincidence. It went into the technical side of a "broken heart". I was surprised to find that stress causes the left ventricle to inflame, causing symptoms similar to a heart attack. I have always heard of broken hearts but I did not think that the heart could be harmed buy high levels of stress, such as sudden loss of a loved one. These studies are really interesting, particularly where it was discovered that the nervous system is affected in the same way after a break up and when touching a hot coffee with a bare hand. This mind and body connection should be taken more seriously by everyone.

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  7. I think it's reasonable for people to doubt "broken heart syndrome," however I do think that Stephen and Katherine bring up good points in that it is not coincidental that spouses die soon after their loved ones pass away, and that the body is truly affected by the mind. I think, like any other body part, the heart can feel pain too, whether it is caused by stress, anxiety or a mix of emotions.I do believe that there is a reason so many people(usually elderly)have passed away once their loved ones do: they become depressed, confused and have pain in their heart. Lastly,is it better to have a more scientific name for this because "broken heart syndrome" may seem extreme or overly romantic to some, or should it just be called "broken heart syndrome?" - Micayla Gifford

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  8. I disagree with Malika I thought this article was very interesting. I was shock that the article mostly talked about women dying from a broken heart when their partner dies. I feel like this is sexist because a women doesn't need a man or a partner to survive.

    Question: Do you know anyone who has died from a broke heart?
    -Courtney Johnson

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  9. I agree with Micayla, Kathryn, and Stephen that it is not a coincidence that a spouse dies close to another. Love is a powerful instrument of destruction when it comes to death. I believe their are people in the world who love their spouse too much that they would do anything to stay with them. I believe that "Broken Heart Syndrome" is a good name for this because it is about people dying over the ones they love. I think that it is horrible women die more than men, but the universe is a mysterious object when it come to matters of the heart. I do not know who has died of a broken heart, but I do know of a person who died from it when his wife passed away November of last year. She was an amazing person and we considered her as a member of the family. I hope no one in your families die from this.
    -John Esposito

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  10. I over all see the correlation between when a spouse dies and when you die. It makes sense. You spend a significant amount of time with someone and you don't want that to end. I agree with John that it is upsetting to know that women die from this more often than men do. However I'm not surprised by this I feel that women in general are a lot more emotional then men. I also think that some people took this article too seriously. This article is simple about a relationship between when a spouse dies and when you die. This may not be true for everyone, but in general there is a faint connection between the two.
    -Herbie

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  11. I agree with John that people can die from a broken heart when it comes to elderly people.I respectfully disagree with Herbert when he says "women in general are a lot more emotional than men" because I think majority of women may just feel more able to communicate their emotions and are more open about feelings. I think it is possible in the case of the elderly because at an old age, once their partner in life dies they may just not feel the need to fight as strong to live, which sounds terribly depressing but it's what I think. My mom always told me my grandfather died of a broken heart once my grandmother passed on so I guess I never questioned whether it was a real condition or not but I think this contradicts the theory of women being more likely to die of a broken heart. I never knew it was a condition but always thought of it kind of as metaphorical...? What did you guys think it meant to die of a broken heart before you read these articles?
    -Kayla Higgins

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  12. first of all i would like to say that it isnt surprising that women have them because of men. if you think about marriages and men beating women and still stay with the husband because they are in "love" and if they leave "die of a brokeing heart" if they are not with them. however i agree that the person cant die of a broken heart and they would do an scientific experiment toward it. and i completely agree with herbert, haveing a spose die is "heart breaking" but it wont break your heart. i believe they could come up with a new name. -jade

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  13. I truthfully think this article makes no sense. Who dies of a broken heart? There needs to be some type of statistical evidence to back up any of this. I think if physicians or experts did a further investigation of the heart and how it is affected by the death of a spouse, this reasoning can make some type of sense. other than that...No. She may have had a previous heart condition that could have been triggered by stress after the death of her husband. And I think I disagree with john. Love can be a "powerful instrument" but that has nothing to do with the way your blood flows, nor does it have anything to do with your circulatory system. Whether you are in love or not your heart will continue to pump and your blood will continue to flow. There doesn't seem to be any scientific info that backs any of this up. ~Gelonnkkss (aka Gelonnie)

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  14. I agree with Malika, that I din't really care about just because I'm a male and it doesn't really affect them as more as women. But I also did find this very interesting even thought it was boring. I disagree with Jade because it's sort of stereotypical of saying that women have them more because of men. When I first heard we had to read about people dying of a broken heart, I automatically thought about Ms. O'Hern and Woodrow Wilson, even though it was from stress. To answer Courtney's question I think my grandfather died of one after I read this article.- Peter

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  15. I was skeptical of the title of this article, but then it became clear that it is possible to die of a broken heart! This is very interesting to think about and really shows how the death of a loved one can affect someone especially if they're your spouse. I agree with Kathryn because it cant always be a coincidence that a marry couple die at around the same time. There has to be more to it than that and dying of a broken heart may sound unrealistic, but could possibly be true. You can only call it a coincident for so long.

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  16. Like Anwar, I became skeptical as soon as I read the title. I feel like broken heart syndrome is too good to be true. There has to be some other sort of scientific evidence or medical reasoning as to why someone experiences, say, chest pains. To Stephen's point, I was also surprised to learn that anxiety and stress cause the left ventricle to blow up like a balloon. It's fascinating to realize how the brain affects the rest of the body in terms of sending signals and triggering responses. For example, the "sting of rejection," as the article words it, is processed in the brain as a form of discomfort which triggers the heart to race. I found that pretty amazing because it shows how all the body systems actually work together so the body can function. Based on this, I guess you can die of a broken heart because the loss of a loved one clearly takes a toll on a person's mind which causes other parts of the body to suffer, like the heart. How did everyone's opinions about this topic change after reading the article? -Eamonn

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  17. In disagreeing with Malika, Adrianna, and Peter,I would like to point out that the idea of the broken heart syndrome that was brought up did not have anything to do with just the loss of a spouse. The article said it could occur in those who experienced the loss of a loved one which could mean a child, sibling, parent, etc. Yes, the name "Broken heart" or the idea of a broken heart seems too idealistic, but who is to say it's not true or not real. Scientifically, it has been shown what stress can do to a person's body especially if that person is suffering emotionally. Some pregnant women who are stressed tend to miscarry because their body just succumb to it, so when Gelonnie said the article made no sense, I felt it was a little harsh. Yes, the condition should be given a different name because like many people said, the title kind of threw you off making some automatically biased. I will also admit that I was slightly biased, but I read the article with an open mind. Yes, I agree with Gelonnie that Love, seeing as it is abstract, does not affect the circulatory system, but it does affect the brain which causes us, as humans, to feel pain, stress, or even a broken heart. Not everything can be answered with just science, or can it?
    -Yetunde

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  18. I found this article interesting because, to answer Kayla's question, I used to think dying from a broken heart was just a saying,but this article shows that there is some scientific truth to it. After I thought about it though, it makes sense that stress from dealing with the death of a loved one could lead to death, especially in elderly people.To answer Eamonn's question my opinion on the reality of a broken heart changed because now I believe it can be true and more scientific and not jut a saying.
    -Jerry Manning

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  19. I agree with Yetunde on this issue, and disagree with Gelonnie. Though there is no "scientific evidence" that can support the idea of a broken heart, there is plenty of evidence that shows how certain effects during and after the sudden passing of a loved one can have on your heart. When a loved one passes away, especially a spouse, your body undergoes a lot. Factors such as stress, sadness, depression, and anxiety all play significant roles in developing Broken Heart Syndrome. All of these things can take a toll on your body, which can eventually lead to complications involving the heart. An example mentioned in the article described how stress and anxiety can cause the left ventricle to swell. The chest pains that Dorothy Lee experienced after her long-time spouse passed, were probably due to the stress and sadness her body was feeling grieving her sudden loss. Overall, I believe, 100% that a person can die of a broken heart. Obviously your heart isn't broken, but because of everything your body goes through during the passing of a loved one, the heart is damaged over time, resulting in this condition becoming fatal.
    -Michela

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  20. I completely agree with Michela, Yetunde, and Stephen. I disagree with Gelonnie though because it makes a lot of sense for someone to die with a broken heart. You love and commit to someone for so many years, and then they are gone. Also, if it is a family member or friend that you are close with. As it says in the article,"The brain processes it as a form of physical discomfort and also triggers the inflammatory stress responses that might cause our palms to sweat, hearts to race and breathing to quicken..." loss of a loved one can really take a toll on the heart. As it says the heart can race by the brain triggering a inflammatory stress response. But the whole women dying more than men has to be a coincidence. It is very stereotypical, but women tend to be more open about certain feelings especially when it comes to loved ones. Men on the other hand hold their feelings more in, so I would have thought that men holding in feelings would make them die more with stress on the heart. But, I truly believe dying of a broken heart is real because the stress of losing a loved one can mess with your head and heart which is not healthy.
    ~Jami

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  21. I agree with Jami, Michela, and Yetunde that it is very possible to die from broken heart syndrome. Obviously, the heart is not actually broken, but one feels anxiety and stress after the loss of a loved one. Losing someone that you care very much about takes a large toll on people emotionally, mentally, and physically. It can be hard to recover from these losses due to the amount of grief and sadness you feel. This often causes depression, and with that anxiety, which greatly increases the levels of stress. As indicated in the articles, this puts a lot of pressure on the heart causing swelling in the left ventricle as well as an increased heart rate. If the stress does not decrease, then this can lead to serious heart problems. Thus, it is possible to die from "broken heart" syndrome.

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  22. Like Anwar and Eamonn, I felt that this article may be somewhat exaggerated. However, after reading the article it does seem to make a lot of sense. Like many others said,the emotional and physical stress a loss puts on someone is a huge factor in Broken Heart Syndrome. Stress does a lot to mess with the proper functions of the body and after losing someone that you've been with for many decades, this could take a huge toll on the mind and therefore the body. Hollywood loves to portray this idea in movies such as "The Notebook" and it's interesting to see that there just might be some truth in it.

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  23. i never really thought that dieing from a broken heart was true but after reading the article it made more sense. life can be very stressful and that has a huge effect on the body which can lead to physical strss and emotional stress especially if you lose a loved one like Brooke said. i feel that it may be more depression than a broken heart but overall if there is enough stress, both physical and mental, the body can be over worked and suffer.-Eric

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  24. Malika poses an interesting comment that women are mostly the ones with the broken heart problems. Elderly people have the most common reasons of dying from a broken heart because of inflamed ventricles. Stress can also bring a broken hearts and that people take it too seriously. -Shalyse

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  25. I think the article made sense. Just like how Mr. B commented on Malika's use of stress is true. Its kind of like how depression affects people. It can have a lot of negative affects on someone such as making them less interested in life. This can be compared to how someone can die of a broken heart. -Mark

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  26. I agree with mark that this article does makes sense. the the fact that a spouse starts going through these things is a big deal, but like it said in the reading it was not that unusual. Things like these can cause a lot of health problems especially when the death of your husband/wife has unexpectedly happened. A lot of stress can damage the heart so that also plays a role of why these things happen
    -Danny

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