We've all heard the phrase, ‘they died of a broken heart’. A widow passes away shortly after losing her husband. A character in a novel fades with grief after the death of a loved one. Someone experiences heartbreak so profound that it seems almost impossible to survive. But can you really die of a broken heart?

For centuries, people have used the idea of a broken heart to describe overwhelming grief and loss. While it was once thought to be purely poetic, modern medicine suggests there may be more truth to the phrase than we once realised.

The broken heart in literature and culture

The idea of heartbreak as a life-threatening force appears in literature throughout history. In Shakespeare's King Lear, the ageing king dies moments after the death of his beloved daughter, Cordelia. While Shakespeare never uses the modern phrase "broken heart syndrome", the implication is clear: Lear's grief is so overwhelming that he cannot go on living.

One of literature's clearest examples of dying from a broken heart is Madame de Tourvel in Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' 1782 novel *Dangerous Liaisons*. A deeply moral and religious woman, who is already married, Tourvel falls in love with the charming but manipulative Valmont, only to discover that their relationship was part of a cruel wager. Consumed by grief and emotional anguish, she retreats from the world and gradually wastes away.
(Right, Aiden Turner and Monica Barbaro as Valmont and Tourvel in the National Theatre’s 2026 production of Dangerous Liaisons.)

Perhaps the most famous "death from a broken heart" in literature is Catherine Earnshaw in Emily Brontë's *Wuthering Heights*. Torn between her passionate love for Heathcliff and the social security offered by Edgar Linton, Catherine becomes physically and emotionally depleted. While her death is attributed to illness, Brontë presents heartbreak as a powerful force in her decline, creating one of literature's most enduring portrayals of love so intense that it seems impossible to survive.
(Left, Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw in the 2026 film “Wuthering Heights”.)

Another strong example is Margaret ("Little Nell")'s grandfather in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop (1841). After Nell's death, Dickens explicitly portrays her grandfather as unable to recover from the loss, and he dies not long afterwards, having been overwhelmed by grief. Victorian readers widely interpreted this as a death caused by sorrow and a broken heart.

A more modern literary example can be found in Winston Graham's Poldark novels. Hugh Armitage falls deeply in love with Demelza Poldark while battling an illness. He dreams of a future with her, but Demelza ultimately chooses to remain with her husband, Ross. Hugh's health deteriorates rapidly and he dies soon afterwards. Although illness is the immediate cause of death, Graham presents heartbreak as an inseparable part of Hugh's tragic story, echoing the long literary tradition of heartbreak so powerful its results are deadly.

For much of history, however, there was little scientific evidence to support the idea that heartbreak could affect the heart itself.

Hugh and Demelza, Poldark, BBC TV series 2015

What does science say?

Today, doctors recognise a condition called Takotsubo syndrome, often referred to as broken heart syndrome. First identified in Japan in the 1990s, the condition can occur following a period of intense emotional or physical stress. The loss of a loved one, a serious illness, a traumatic event or even extreme shock can sometimes trigger it.

People with broken heart syndrome often experience symptoms similar to a heart attack, including chest pain, breathlessness and changes visible on heart scans. Unlike a typical heart attack, however, there may be no blocked arteries. Instead, researchers believe a surge of stress hormones temporarily stuns the heart and affects its ability to pump effectively.

In 2025, Brenda Young, a 57-year-old social worker from Scotland, experienced Takotsubo syndrome shortly after witnessing her mother's death. Within minutes, she developed intense chest pain and was taken to hospital, where doctors initially suspected a heart attack. Further tests revealed that her heart muscle had been temporarily weakened by the extreme emotional stress of her bereavement. Brenda later joined a ground-breaking clinical trial investigating treatments for the condition.

However, not everyone who experiences profound grief develops heart problems, and most people who do experience broken heart syndrome survive and recover. Also, when someone dies shortly after a bereavement, it can be difficult to know whether grief was the direct cause or whether other underlying health conditions were involved.
In other words, while grief can have a powerful effect on the body, the evidence does not suggest that a broken heart alone commonly causes death.

More than a metaphor

Perhaps the most important lesson is that grief is not "just" an emotion. It can affect our sleep, appetite, concentration, immune system and physical health. The pain of loss is real, and so are its physical effects on the body.

So, can you die of a broken heart? In rare cases, severe emotional stress can trigger a genuine heart condition that affects a person's health. But for most people, a broken heart is something they learn to live with rather than die from. The scars may remain, yet with time, support and compassion, many people find a way to carry their grief forward while continuing to live a meaningful life.

For more information on Takotsubo syndrome and available support, follow the links below.

References

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/takotsubo-cardiomyopathy-broken-heart-syndrome

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1513631-overview

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/takotsubo-cardiomyopathy

https://www.cardiomyopathy.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/Takotsubo%20Syndrome_Feb_22_0.pdf‍ ‍

https://people.com/broken-heart-syndrom-first-clinical-trial-11978612