The Medical Director at Medicas Hospital, Dr. Yaw Osarfo, has said that individuals suffering from heartbreak may also be exposed to heart attacks.

According to him, intense grief after losing a loved one or breaking up with someone held dearly to the heart can trigger heart attack.

“Now what is the trigger for that sudden emotional stress? Grief. Grief from losing something very, very important. And for a lot of people, when they are in a loving relationship, be it a marriage, be it your boyfriend, girlfriend, then they put a lot of value on that relationship. And if that relationship is suddenly taken away, then you experience intense emotional difficulties or stress and the heart takes a pounding,” Yaw Osarfo said on Joy Prime's Season of Heart series.

Dr. Osarfo explained that heart attacks and other health complications that people face after heartbreaks stem from a medically accepted disease called the heartbreak syndrome.

The heartbreak syndrome, also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a serious health complication caused by intense emotional stress.

“We found out that whenever you experience intense emotional stress, the shape of the left side of your heart becomes like that Japanese pot, wide, bottom based and a very narrow neck and that is not very healthy. You would even experience the symptoms similar to one experiencing a heart attack, where you have a certain tightness in your chest, you may have difficulty in breathing, sudden dizziness and people may actually pass out,” he said.

Relationships, though it has its highs and lows, is beautiful, but when love is broken, the heart takes a beating and not necessarily the brain.