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The condition is usually brought on by the stress of an event like losing a loved one.

After a traumatic event like a divorce or the death of a loved one, some people may experience chest pain and shortness of breath — the result of a condition known colloquially as “broken heart syndrome.”

The syndrome, which doctors formally call takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is thought to be triggered by physical or emotional stress, which releases bursts of stress hormones like adrenaline that prevent people’s hearts from contracting properly. Most patients recover quickly, but a small minority suffer heart failure. 

Although broken heart syndrome is most common in women, men die from it at more than twice the rate, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.