It turns out it may actually be possible to die of a broken heart. A study of nearly 1 million Danes has revealed that the death of a partner may trigger an irregular heartbeat, which can be life-threatening.

The study, published in the online journal Open Heart, showed there was an elevated risk that lasted about a year of developing a heart flutter following the death of a lifelong partner.

The risk was highest “8-14 days after the loss, after which it gradually declined”, read the report. “One year after the loss, the risk was almost the same as in the non-bereaved population.”

Younger people at highest peril
Those under 60 whose partners died unexpectedly were most at risk. They were more than twice as likely to develop problems, while those whose partners  died unexpectedly were 57 percent more at risk.

Researchers used population data collected between 1995 and 2014. Of the group, 88,612 people had been newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) and 886,120 were healthy.

“The risk of developing an irregular heartbeat for the first time was 41 percent higher among those who had been bereaved than it was among those who had not experienced such a loss,” read the study, which was headed by Simon Graff of Aarhus University.

Always a stressful event
The team cautioned that the study was merely looking for correlations in data, and that many things that could have an effect on the findings – like the bereaved group’s diet, exercise regime, or predisposal to AF – were unknown.

READ MORE: Danish project will scan hearts of new-borns for defects

The loss of a partner is considered one of life’s most stressful  events and can lead to symptoms like depression, loss of sleep and appetite, and increased alcohol and drug consumption.