Risk of death rises in first six months after losing a spouse, consultant cardiologist warns
Consultant cardiologist Khaled Al-Nimr highlights increased mortality risk, especially for men, in the months following the loss of a life partner.
Key Takeaways
AIConsultant and professor of cardiology and arterial catheterization, Dr. Khaled Al-Nimr, has warned of the dangers of loneliness after losing a spouse.
Al-Nimr stated on the X platform that the phenomenon of a person dying soon after their life partner is medically known as the "widowhood effect."
He added that scientific studies involving millions of people have shown that the risk of death increases by 41% during the first six months after losing a spouse, with the effect being more pronounced in men than in women.
Al-Nimr attributed this to intense grief, sleep and eating disturbances, and neglecting chronic medications—especially for heart disease and diabetes. He stressed that elderly people who lose their partners should not be left alone, and should be visited, monitored, and reminded to take their medications, as loneliness can be "fatal."
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