British Actress Rushed To Hospital With ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’ Following Day Filming Death Scenes

British actress Elaine Rhoades was rushed to St. George Hospital after her heart stopped pumping. She was diagnosed with “broken heart syndrome,” which may have been triggered by an emotional day of filming death scenes.

The Daily Mail notes that the actress Elaine Rhoades was filming scenes for C.O.O.L.I.O, in which she plays a gangster’s mother. In the scene, the actress was saying goodbye to her son on her death bed. Rhoades says the scenes were emotionally taxing and that she basically spent the entire day dying.

“I pretty much spent the whole day dying, to get the take right.”

The following morning, Rhoades was rushed to the hospital after her heart stopped beating. Doctors say she suffered from a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, commonly known as “broken heart syndrome.” What is broken heart syndrome? According to the Mayo Clinic, broken heart syndrome is a temporary heart condition that’s often brought on by stressful situations, such as the death of a loved one.

“People with broken heart syndrome may have sudden chest pain or think they’re having a heart attack. In broken heart syndrome, there’s a temporary disruption of your heart’s normal pumping function, while the remainder of the heart functions normally or with even more forceful contractions.”

Once treated, broken heart syndrome typically resolves itself within a week. For Rhoades, she was in intensive care for five full days before being released home. Doctors were baffled by the onset of Rhoades condition, claiming that the syndrome must have been a result of the intense day of filming the death scene that she felt she could strongly relate to in some fashion.

“I was playing a mother who died and I totally got into the zone. It was very intense – I had to say goodbye to my son. I have a son around the same age and put myself in that position. It was really emotional.”

Rhoades says that once she left the film set, she began to feel unwell but would not be seen by a doctor until the next day. The next morning she collapsed in her home and an ambulance was called. Doctors say she is lucky to be alive and could have actually died from the intense emotional feelings.

“It’s very odd why it should happen. They said it was like I’d had a major trauma or massive shock. Doctors can’t really explain it. They couldn’t understand how this happened and how I survived the first night without being in hospital. I’m very lucky. They said I literally could have died from a broken heart.”

[Image Credit: Facebook/Elaine Rhoades]