TED Radio Hour How to mend a broken heart
18 snips
May 8, 2026 
Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist and author who studies how extreme emotions affect the heart. Jeannie Suk Gersen, a law professor and mediator focused on family and divorce-conscious conversations. Weiwen Sato, a pediatric critical care nurse who copes with ICU grief and burnout. Knut Ivar Bjørlykhaug, a social worker and climate advocate confronting ecological sorrow. They discuss broken heart physiology, relationship planning, processing professional grief, and climate grief.
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Broken Heart Syndrome From Acute Grief
- Cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar described a widow who developed acute heart failure after grief, diagnosed as Takotsubo (broken heart) syndrome.
- Her coronary arteries were pristine but the heart ballooned into a pot-like shape and later returned to normal as grief subsided.
Belief And Stress Can Trigger Fatal Heart Responses
- Strong emotions can acutely and directly disrupt heart function, sometimes leading to sudden death or long-term heart disease risk.
- Historically described as "Voodoo Death," perceived lack of control provokes extreme physiological responses that damage organs.
Let Patients Speak To Reveal Emotional Causes
- Recognize and address psychosocial stress in clinical care by letting patients speak and exploring emotional causes of symptoms.
- Sandeep Jauhar now allows patients to talk more and has used family outreach to heal relationship-driven heart symptoms.