After examining "78 bereaved spouses and parents two weeks after the deaths of loved ones, and again six months later," as well as volunteers who were not bereaved, researchers found that the bereaved individuals "had about twice as many episodes of rapid heartbeats in the first weeks after the deaths. After six months, the difference disappeared."

"Meanwhile, depression levels initially appeared to be more than four times higher among the bereaved," HealthDay (11/14, Mozes) reported. "These rates started to decline after half a year, but they were still three times higher than levels found among the non-grieving participants." The study's author concluded that "some bereaved...especially those already at increased cardiovascular risk, might benefit from medical review."

He also explained that the study's findings were "consistent with evidence for psychosocial triggering of cardiovascular events." BBC News (11/14) and Reuters (11/15, Pierson) also covered the story.