It might sound melodramatic, but losing a loved one really could break your heart, research suggests.
People who lose a partner are at an increased risk of developing an irregular heartbeat for the next 12 months, scientists have found.
The condition, atrial fibrillation, affects around 35,000 New Zealanders and increases the chance of a stroke and heart failure.
People who become bereaved are over 40 per cent more likely to develop the condition than those who have not lost a partner, researchers found.
Scientists in Denmark collected data from almost 89,000 people diagnosed with atrial fibrillation between 1995 and 2014, which they compared to the medical records of 886,000 healthy people. Some 17,478 of those diagnosed with the condition had lost their partner, as had 168,940 of the comparison group.