Broken heart syndrome is linked with both physical and emotional stress and may recur.

Severe emotional stress - such as that involved in losing a loved one - can bring on a heart condition marked by shortness of breath and chest pain. It looks a little bit like a heart attack, but is not the same thing. Clinically it is called apical ballooning syndrome - but, because of the link with emotion, it is more commonly known as broken heart syndrome. It involves the tip of the heart's main pumping chamber stretching, ballooning out and weakening in response to stress.

Mayo Clinic doctors now report the largest review to date of broken heart syndrome. The study of 100 patients showed that the condition is triggered by both emotional and physical stress, although sometimes there is no obvious triggering event. One patient in ten experiences a recurrence and around 3.6 per cent of cases of broken heart syndrome prove fatal, although this depends upon the overall health of the patient. Physical stress was a more common cause of fatal broken heart syndrome than was emotional stress. Blood flow to the heart is abnormal in two-thirds of patients with broken heart syndrome, due to dysfunctional blood vessels. It is hoped that this new report will help doctors to spot broken heart syndrome more easily among their patients.

Source
American Heart Association meeting 14th November 2006