Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of life’s toughest challenges. It can cause severe psychological stress, which studies have shown can raise the risk of acute cardiovascular problems. Now, new research finds the risk of irregular heartbeat – a key risk factor for stroke and heart failure – may be increased for up to 1 year after the death of a partner.

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The risk of AF is raised for up to a year after the death of a partner, a new study suggests.

Study coauthor Dr. Simon Graff, of the Department of Public Health, Research Unit for General Practice at Aarhus University, Denmark, and colleagues publish their findings in Open Heart – a journal of The BMJ.

Numerous studies have suggested that the passing of a loved one can play havoc with heart health in the short term. A study reported by Medical News Today in 2014, for example, found that the risk of heart attack or stroke doubles within the first 30 days of a partner’s death.

However, Dr. Graff and colleagues note that no large studies have assessed how the death of a partner affects the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) – a form of arrhythmia in which the upper chambers of the heart beat irregularly, reducing blood flow to the rest of the body.

AF is a major risk factor for stroke and heart failure, affecting between 2.7-6.1 million people in the US.

The team set out to assess whether the death of a partner influences the risk of AF by analyzing data on 88,612 individuals who had been newly diagnosed with the condition, alongside 886,120 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Fast facts about AF
  • Around 2% of Americans under the age of 65 have AF
  • This increases to around 9% for those aged 65 or older
  • Chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and extreme fatigue can be signs of AF.

Learn more about AF

Among those newly diagnosed with AF, 17,478 had lost their partner, while 168,940 controls had lost their partner.

Compared with individuals who had not lost a partner, those who had were at 41% greater risk for developing AF for the first time in the first 30 days after their partner’s passing, the researchers found.

The risk of AF was highest in the 8-14 days after a partner death, before gradually declining. However, it was not until 1 year after the loss of a partner that the risk of AF was almost the same as those who had not lost a partner.

Individuals under the age of 60 who had lost a partner had the greatest risk for AF, at double the risk of those the same age who had not lost a partner.

People whose partners were relatively healthy in the month before their passing were also at higher risk for AF; they were 57% more likely to develop the condition than those whose partners were not healthy in the month before death and who were expected to die soon.

The researchers speculate that this is because the stress associated with bereavement is less expected in these circumstances.

The increased risk of AF with partner death remained after accounting for participants’ gender, underlying conditions – including cardiovascular disease and diabetes – and medication use.

The authors note that their study is observational, so it is unable to conclude that the death of a partner is a direct cause of AF.

What is more, the researchers were unable to account for a number of potentially confounding factors, including participants’ lifestyle and family history of AF.

Still, they believe their results warrant further investigation:

“These findings indicate that high levels of stress may increase the risk of developing new onset of atrial fibrillation. With a biologically plausible association, early identification of this group should be encouraged and calls for further studies.”

While the underlying causal mechanisms of the link between partner loss and AF are unclear, the researchers hypothesize that it may be because acute stress directly interferes with heart rhythm and boosts the production of chemicals involved in inflammation.

However, they say future studies are needed to pinpoint the causal mechanisms involved.

Earlier this year, MNT reported on a study suggesting AF is riskier for women than men.