Losing a loved one may increase your risk of heart attack or stroke

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-04-25 01:00

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The death of a loved one may increase your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular event, with research from Sweden suggesting this risk was even greater when people lost a partner or sibling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The large study of over five million people found that bereavement was linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and that the risk was greater during the COVID-19 period compared with the pre–COVID-19 period for loss of a partner and sibling. The authors say that this finding underscores the importance of targeted clinical monitoring and preventive care for bereaved people.

News release

From: JAMA

Bereavement and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

About The Study: In this cohort study, bereavement was associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, a stronger association for partner or sibling loss was noted during the pandemic. These findings suggest that bereavement may be a period of heightened cardiovascular vulnerability, underscoring the importance of targeted clinical monitoring and preventive care for bereaved individuals.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Funder: This study was supported by NordForsk (project No. 138929 and grant No. 164218), the Swedish Research Council for Health,Working Life andWelfare (Forte, grant No. 2022-00579), and the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, grant No. 2022-06397). The Swedish COVID-19 Investigation for Future Insights—A Population Epidemiology Approach Using Register Linkage study has received grants from the Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish government and the county councils, the ALF agreement (grant No. ALFGBG-938453, ALFGBG-971130, ALFGBG-978954, and ALFGBG-1006729), the Swedish Research Council for Health,Working Life, andWelfare (Forte, grant No. 2024-01711), and a joint grant from the Swedish Research Council for Health,Working Life, andWelfare (Forte) and Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning (Formas) (grant No. 2020-02828).

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