The heart is a very fragile and strong organ. It is the center ofour being and a very vulnerable focal point. The heart plays arole in every function of the body. It can be “hurt”, “lost” andleft in San Francisco. It can also “skip a beat” or be attackedby a stroke. Our heart is our life force and in Chinese medicineit is the fire element. Yet it can “fail” us, as in heartfailure. The heart has rhythm and can block, just not in afootball game. Sometime, our heart talks to us with sounds andmurmurs. There are some people who listen to their hearts speakto them while others have not listened and may have taken a pathof least resistance. There is time, however, that we all listenwhen our heart speaks to us. That time is when there is what iscalled a broken heart.

When the heart is broken, a spectrum of feelings is manifested.These feelings consist of hurt, pain, anger, sadness, reliefand forgiveness. In the process of living with these feelingsand going through the experience of having a broken heart, whathappens physically and emotionally to women?

In my practice, many women have scheduled an appointment with mefor an annual gynecological examination or they were returningfor their weekly obstetrical examination. Within the first fewminutes of interviewing the patient about her medical historysince the last visit, I realize there is a strong emotional andphysical component to the visit that is not directly related towhat is considered a routine exam. In essence, the emotional andphysical components are indicative of a broken heart. I make aholistic assessment of the patient’s medical history, emotional,spiritual, physical and clinical findings. These cases maywarrant a referral to a specialist, depending on her status atthat moment. A follow up visit is always scheduled.

Throughout time, it has been said individuals have died of abroken heart. For instance, a wife died and then her husbanddied from natural causes within a week or a sister died and hersibling died naturally very soon thereafter. Were thesubsequent deaths just a coincidence or did they die from abroken heart?

Researchers have started scientifically looking at such casesand calling it the Broken Heart Syndrome. In health careterminology we call this condition stress Cardiomyopathy.Cardiomyopathy is heart muscle weakness. It can occur aftervarious emotional and physical stressors such as fear, surprise,anger and the death of a loved one. Stress cardiomyopathyaffects primarily women and occurs most frequently in middleaged women and women over age sixty. Many of the women thathave been studied have no prior history of heart disease and themajorities are postmenopausal. There is no known reason for theincrease frequency in women in these age groups andpostmenopausal women in particular. Physical stressors can fuela stroke or seizure and as mentioned emotional stressors such asfear, grief and anger can cause this condition.

Women with dis-stressed can suddenly and unexpectedly experiencea heavy feeling in the chest, shortness of breath, abnormalrhythm of the heart, low blood pressure, congestive heartfailure and shock. It can be life threatening. She may appearsad, express feelings of sadness, lock of concentration anddifficulty sleeping at night. The good news is there can also bea quick and complete recovery.

Aromatherapy is a fantastic complementary therapy. One hundredpercent essential oils are more potent than herbs –less isbetter than more. They are volatile oils which are obtaineddirectly from the root, flower petals, leaves or skins of fruit.The price can range from approximately five dollars to severalhundred dollars for a half ounce. It takes 2000 pounds of rosepetals to make one pound of oil. Therefore there is a variancein the cost of essential oils. The essential oils widely used torestore the heart are Rose Otto, Jasmine sambac, Neroli,Rosewood, and Lavender. Essential oil blends can be used throughinhalation and application methods. They can be inhaled by usinga diffuser, sniffed directly from the bottle (less expensiveoils) or they can be used in the bath/shower or through vaporand nebulizer. They can be applied by massage or as perfume oil.

Lavender has a long history as a medicine and perfume. InChinese medicine it circulates heart Qi. It can restorevitality, relieve tension and calm a person. Dried lavender budscan be added to the bath or a tea can be made from the driedherb. To make a single note lavender perfume oil add three dropsof 100% Highland or Bulgarian lavender essential oil to onetablespoon of jojoba oil. Jojoba oil is a stable carrier oil,won’t rancid and is relatively odorless. The benefits of essential oils are numerous. However, care mustbe taken in using them. Aromatherapy is very technical. One oilcan cancel out the effects of another oil. Some oils are toxicand what may benefit one person may have no effect on anotherperson. One fragrance may be pleasant to one person andoffensive to another. Determine which oil is best for you. Ourbehavior is affected by the aromatic scent. They also help thebody regulate itself and come into balance. Therefore thestressors and feelings produced by a broken are relieved withthe consistent use of aromatherapy.