When thinking of a broken heart, one may picture a cartoon drawing with a jagged line through it. But a real-life broken heart can lead to cardiac consequences. There are established ties between depression, mental health and heart disease. An extremely stressful event can have an impact on the heart.

Women are more likely than men to experience the sudden, intense chest pain—the reaction to a surge of stress hormones—that can be caused by an emotionally stressful event. It could be the death of a loved one, a divorce, breakup or physical separation, betrayal or romantic rejection. It could even happen after a good shock (like winning the lottery.)

Broken heart syndrome may be misdiagnosed as a heart attack because the symptoms and test results are similar. In fact, tests show dramatic changes in rhythm and blood substances that are typical of a heart attack. But unlike a heart attack, there’s no evidence of blocked heart arteries in broken heart syndrome.

In broken heart syndrome, a part of the heart temporarily enlarges and doesn’t pump well, while the rest of the heart functions normally or with even more forceful contractions. Researchers are just starting to learn the causes, and how to diagnose and treat the condition.

The bad news is that broken heart syndrome can lead to severe, short-term heart muscle failure. The good news is that broken heart syndrome is usually treatable. Most people who experience it make a full recovery within weeks, and they’re at low risk for it happening again (although in rare cases it can be fatal).

“The brain’s perception of the reality it finds itself in can be deadly. Depression can kill. This is why it is so important to treat it. If anti-depressants are not working for you then it’s time to consider a different approach,” says Dr. J. Douglas Brown of Mind Performance Center. “We take a completely different approach to treating a troubled brain, one that involves the whole person. We use functional neurology, functional medicine and deep TMS procedures to help restore our patients to a healthy full life. By treating the body and the brain simultaneously we get the results that you have heard about.”