Emotional heartache: this kind of heartache is caused by emotions, such as lovelorn love and the death of relatives. It is usually not caused by physical problems, but by psychological and emotional trauma. This kind of heartache may lead to insomnia, loss of appetite, depression and other psychological problems, and even suicidal thoughts. From a physiological point of view, this kind of heartache may be related to the limbic system in the brain, especially the part related to emotion and stress response. When we experience emotional trauma, the levels of hormones and neurotransmitters (such as cortisol, dopamine, serotonin, etc.). ) may change, affecting our emotional and physiological reactions.
Clinical heartache: Clinical heartache is caused by physical diseases, such as heart disease and myocardial infarction. This kind of heartache is usually related to hypoxia or heart tissue damage, which can lead to severe chest pain, dyspnea and syncope. Physiologically, clinical heartache is closely related to heart and circulatory problems. When myocardial cells are damaged due to ischemia (hypoxia) or other reasons, inflammatory factors and pain mediators, such as prostaglandin and histamine, will be released, which will stimulate peripheral nerve endings and lead to the feeling of heartache.
In a word, emotional heartache and clinical heartache are very different in physiology. Emotional heartache mainly involves the emotional and stress response of the brain, while clinical heartache is related to the problems of the heart and circulatory system. Although both of them are controlled by nervous system, their etiology and physiological mechanism are different.