Die of happiness

Not long ago a 70-year-old American woman died of cardiac arrest a few hours after Barack Obama entered her restaurant. That’s what I would call ‘to die of happiness’. That poor woman had no idea of the President’s visit, and moreover she was a great Obama’s fan. So can people really die of happiness? According to experts, it is possible. Emotional arousal can lead to heart attack, stroke and other potentially fatal conditions. Our body reacts to excitement as well as to the feeling of fear or stress, producing adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones trigger the reaction to “fight or flight,” which prepares us to the dangerous situation. But excessively high level of these hormones in the blood can be dangerous for our heart, brain and other organs. This is especially harmful for people with heart diseases, and for older people, as it can lead to death.

There are many examples when people die of great joy and other bright emotions.

– In 2010 a man from Taiwan died of a stroke after watching “Avatar.”

– Football fans in Munich, Germany, suffered from emergency cardiovascular conditions during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

– An orgasm can cause a fatal heart attack. It happens to about one percent of the world’s population.

– In 2009 a 12-year-old boy from the UK experienced an asthma attack and a cardiac arrest opening his Christmas present.

But don’t worry. In fact such cases are relatively rare, especially among healthy people. Most cases occur when a person experiences stress, fear, sadness, Voodoo death fear ( the phenomenon of sudden death as brought about by a strong emotional shock, such as fear, often to some suggested outside force), or “broken heart syndrome” – heart disorders caused by emotional trauma.So, be happy, but take care!