Heartache, now a cause of death

March 19, 2015 6:16 PM

This finally explains why elderly couples die within hours, days of each other. It has been discovered via a new research that heartbreak can actually kill you.

This finally explains why elderly couples die within hours, days of each other. it has been discovered via a new research that heartbreak can actually kill you.

A study published in Ageing and Immunity has found out that elderly people who have just experienced the death of a loved one are more vulnerable to infectious diseases.

A professor of behavioral medicine at the University of Birmingham’s School of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Anna Phillips, studied two small groups of mourners.

One group had the average age of 32, and the other group was significantly older with the average age of 72. There was a third group that acted as the control by being the ones who haven't lost a loved one.

When each groups health was compared, they found that the elderly mourners had less function in their white blood cells, which typically helps the body fight off infections. The younger group of mourners seemed to only be affected psychologically.

This would explain why you hear of so many elderly couples dying within hours of each other, but don't get the same headlines for couples in their younger years.