If you've ever had your heart broken, you're familiar with that crushing pressure that sits in your chest (and sometimes moves to the pit of your stomach) and lingers for weeks to remind you of the love you just lost. But while we tend to think that heartbreak exists almost entirely in one's head, there's new evidence to suggest that the heart can be physically broken as a result of certain types of trauma. The Wall Street Journal has taken on the topic of "broken-heart syndrome" ("Hearts Actually Can Break" by Ron Winslow) -- an affliction that disproportionately strikes women after menopause.

So what is broken-heart syndrome, and how does it work?

• Broken-heart syndrome (BHS) mimics heart attacks, but has little connection to heart disease, and doctors see it occur in patients who have recently lost a loved one. (Think of those stories of longtime couples who die just days apart.) BHS appears to be triggered by an intense surge of adrenaline that overwhelms the heart and interferes with its ability to pump blood -- essentially, a sudden, stress-induced heart attack.

• Some of the emotional stressors linked to BHS include the death of a spouse or close friend or family member, the wounding of a beloved animal and even the loss of a large amount of money. Breakups and divorce have also been linked to an episode. Physical stressors can also play a role, including migraine headaches, knee surgery, low blood sugar, adverse drug reactions, alcohol withdrawal and respiratory distress. While BHS can be fatal -- some patients' hearts are reduced to 20 percent efficiency -- most patients recover quickly with no permanent damage to their hearts.

• Researchers say more than 90 percent of those affected by BHS are post-menopausal women, possibly because of lower levels of estrogen make heart cells more vulnerable to an adrenaline rush. But some younger women have experienced BHS as well, which complicates that presumed linkage.
  
• BHS recurs in about 10 percent of patients. Researchers are also still trying to figure out why some events affect people and others don't. One patient suffered a BHS heart attack during a surprise birthday party; but a year later, when her brother died, she didn't get the syndrome.