In the U.S., around 82.6 million

people are living with cardiovascular disease (CVD), but there’s one condition that often gets overlooked, especially for those in high-stress jobs like healthcare: broken heart syndrome, or stress-induced cardiomyopathy.

It’s not the kind of thing you hear about every day, but it’s real and serious. This condition, which can feel just like a heart attack, happens when extreme emotional or physical stress overwhelms the heart and causes it to weaken temporarily. And even though it can feel like a heart attack, the difference is that it doesn’t involve a blocked artery, but it’s still a major health concern.

Even more concerning is that healthcare workers—who dedicate their lives to caring for others—often brush off the symptoms, thinking it’s just exhaustion, without realizing it might be something more. They’re so focused on helping patients that their own health, particularly their heart, can fall by the wayside. Their job demands only worsen: long shifts, emotional burnout, and the constant pressure of life-or-death decisions. All of this adds up, and the risk of something like broken heart syndrome becomes very real.

The Stress That Builds Up

Healthcare workers dedicate so much of themselves to caring for others that they often overlook their health, especially their heart health. Broken heart syndrome, a condition caused by intense emotional or physical stress, can show up with symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, and a racing heartbeat. In some cases, healthcare workers might also feel extreme fatigue, pressure in their chest, or even faint.

These signs can be concerning, but the good news is that broken heart syndrome can be treated. With the right care and attention, the heart muscle usually recovers fully in weeks; however, healthcare workers must recognize the signs early to seek treatment and, more importantly, prioritize their well-being before things get worse.

Taking Care of the Caregivers

If healthcare workers want to keep doing what they love without burning out or risking serious health complications like broken heart syndrome, they need to make self-care a priority. This means managing stress, making time for physical activity, eating well, and, most importantly, learning to recognize when they’re overwhelmed and need a break.

The focus on self-care becomes even more critical when considering the physical toll the job takes, as many healthcare workers who’ve been in the field for years often struggle with chronic pain. These pains result from the job’s physical demands, such as lifting patients, long shifts, and being on their feet for hours. What’s important to understand is that this constant pain doesn’t just affect their body—it can also impact their heart health. Chronic pain leads to stress, and over time, that stress can take a toll on the heart. The more stressed someone feels, the more likely they are to experience other health problems, including heart-related issues.

The Bigger Picture

The reality is that broken heart syndrome is just one of many heart-related issues that can crop up due to long-term stress, and it doesn’t get the attention it really deserves. When we think about healthcare workers and their heart health, we need to consider the bigger picture of how constant stress affects their cardiovascular health in general.

Broken heart syndrome often occurs due to physical or emotional stress. Healthcare workers might dismiss it as mere fatigue and attribute it to the demands of their job. In high-stress, fast-paced environments like healthcare, workers are so focused on taking care of others and ticking off their to-do lists that their own health, especially something like this that doesn’t seem as obvious or “real” as a regular heart attack, can get shoved to the side.

Add to that the stigma around taking time for yourself when there’s always someone else in need, and it’s easy to see why healthcare workers might not get the help they need until they’re struggling. It’s so crucial for people in high-stress jobs to recognize the damage stress can do to their bodies and figure out how to manage it before it leads to bigger problems.

The pressures on healthcare workers will only continue as demands grow. The good news is that broken heart syndrome and other stress-related conditions are preventable with the right tools, support, and awareness. It’s time to start prioritizing heart health for those who spend their careers taking care of others.

The post Rare But Real—Broken Heart Syndrome Is A Hidden Risk for Healthcare Workers first appeared on Daily Nurse.