Heartbreak can kill: Singapore doctors talk about broken heart syndrome

Broken heart syndrome occurs when a traumatic event triggers a surge in stress hormones, weakening the heart muscles. PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
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SINGAPORE - While the idea of dying from a broken heart seems straight out of a romance novel, it can happen.

Mr Joe Garcia, 50, suffered a heart attack last month while preparing the funeral rites of his wife Irma Garcia, 48. She was one of two teachers killed along with 19 children in a shooting incident at Robb Elementary School in Texas, the United States.

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