The grieving family of a widower whose wife of 25 years was shot dead in the school massacre in Texas say that he died from a broken heart.

43-year-old Joe Garcia was pronounced dead only hours after visiting the memorial site where his beloved wife Irma was killed.

Sadly, Mr. Garcia collapsed and died while preparing for her funeral.

Speaking to Mail Online, Professor Sian Harding – a cardiac pharmacology expert at Imperial College London – said that the surge of emotional shock is “well known” as part of broken heart syndrome.

“Bereavement is often a trigger, but the hugely shocking and tragic circumstances here would have magnified the effect,” she said.

The symptoms of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome, can feel similar to a heart attack, causing palpitations, shortness of breath, and intense chest pains, and not caused by blocked arteries.

In takotsubo cardiomyopathy, blood circulation to part of the heart is blocked for a short period of time, according to Cedars Sinai. In a heart attack, a major blockage in one of the coronary arteries triggers symptoms but there is no such blockage in TCM.

Mr. Garcia was seen visiting a memorial to his late wife after her death only hours before he died.

John Martinez, Mrs. Garcia’s nephew, said that the grieving husband died from ‘grief’ after returning home from delivering red roses to the memorial.

TCM affects up to 11,000 Americans and 3,000 Britons every year, the Daily Mail reported. Divorce, bankruptcy and bereavement can be triggers.

Most patients can recover within weeks but only one percent are estimated to die from the syndrome.

Dr. Daniel Hammersley, a spokesperson for Cardiomyopathy UK, said: “Patients who develop this condition generally experience symptoms of chest pain or breathlessness.

“Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases the heart muscle function recovers within a few weeks. It is a rare condition overall. Most frequently it affects people in their 50s or 60s, although it has been seen in other age groups.”

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