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Published online 9 February 2005 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news050207-11
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A broken heart harms your health
Emotional stress causes an unusual type of heart disease.
Being 'broken-hearted' as a result of emotional trauma may be a more apposite turn of phrase than we imagined. US researchers have shown how sudden emotional stress can release hormones that stun the heart into submission, resulting in symptoms that mimic a typical heart attack.
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