Can you die of a broken heart? Maybe. Maybe so.
There was a story recently that Doug Flute – he of the “Hail Mary Miracle in Miami” win over the Hurricanes back in 1984 – lost both his parents within an hour of each other. It turns out that old man Flutie had not been in good shape for a while, and on Wednesday, November 18, he passed away after suffering a massive heart attack. Within an hour, his wife was gone as well. Also a heart attack. Except that she had been in good shape.
Correlation is not causality. I know that if for no other reason that I’ve recently been rereading Freakonomics. Which you should definitely read, if you haven’t. So, we know that correlation is not causality. It could be that her time was up. It could be that she was about to have a heart attack regardless. It could be a complete coincidence.
Maybe. But I’ll buy it. I’ll buy it. Right now, for the moment, I’ll buy that you really can die of a broken heart.
My aunt Jacqueline and uncle Maurice were married for over 40 years. They were inseparable. One day, Maurice died of “age and natural causes”. Aunt Jacqueline was inconsolable. Two weeks later, she died of “age and natural causes”.
My grandparents past two weeks between each other. They had been together since the age of 9. Only time they were separated was when my grandad was in the war.