What is broken heart syndrome and who is most at risk?

When Christine Collard woke during the night in 2022 unable to catch her breath, she remembers feeling panicked. "You don't know what's going on, which makes you panic even more," says Christine, from Mount Compass in South Australia/Ngarrindjeri (Warki), Peramangk, and Kaurna lands. "And I had a slight pain on the right-hand side of my chest." Christine's husband called an ambulance, believing his wife was having a heart attack. But when doctors began running tests at the hospital, they diagnosed her with broken heart syndrome, a painful heart condition associated with intense stress.

What is broken heart syndrome and who is most at risk?. When Christine Collard woke during the night in 2022 unable to catch her breath, she remembers feeling panicked. "You don't know what's going on, which makes you panic even more," says Christine, from Mount Compass in South Australia/Ngarrindjeri (Warki), Peramangk, and Kaurna lands. "And I had a slight pain on the right-hand side of my chest." Christine's husband called an ambulance, believing his wife was having a heart attack. But when doctors began running tests at the hospital, they diagnosed her with broken heart syndrome, a painful heart condition associated with intense stress. "I do suffer from a panic disorder. When something sets it off, it snowballs and turns into something quite severe," she says. "I had a stressful family matter happening at the time, which contributed...