SIC-Scared to Death

Science in the City

Scared to Death

DEAR SCIENCE WORLD,

I watched an old Sherlock Holmes movie last night, The Hound of the Baskervilles. During his investigation, Holmes announced that a victim had died of fright. Is this realistic or made-up movie malarkey? Can you really scare someone to death?

Filmed Evidence Ain’t Realistic

Dear F.E.A.R.,
Although all of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures are fiction, the scenario you describe is more realistic than you may realize. Scientists have found that intense emotions can cause real damage.

When you’re scared, your body has a natural way of protecting itself called fight-or-flight. A section of your brain called the hypothalamus sends a signal to your adrenal glands to release a hormone called adrenaline into your bodies. Your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate and more blood flows to your muscles. This is useful when trying to outrun big scary hounds in detective stories.

In large amounts though, adrenaline can be toxic to organs like your kidneys, lungs, liver and heart. Too much adrenaline can cause an abnormal heart rhythm or make your heart muscle contract without being able to release. If your heart can’t deliver blood to your body, you die.

Fear can have amazing effects on your body. In 1912, a woman named Annie Deris was so convinced that she had been infected with rabies that she died in agony while exhibiting many symptoms of the disease. After her death, doctors found no trace of rabies infection in Annie, or in the dog that bit her.

Criminals have even been charged with murder for scaring someone to death. A woman in Charlotte, North Carolina suffered a heart attack and died after a bank robber hid in her house to escape from the police. The robber was later charged with first degree murder for triggering the terror that caused her death.

Researchers have also discovered an unusual connection between emotional stress and mortality. In many Japanese and Chinese cultures, the number four is considered unlucky. In a study published in the British Medical Journal, sociologist David P. Phillips compared two large groups of patients: those of Japanese or Chinese descent who might be anxious about the number four, and those of European descent. He found that in the group that was apprehensive about the number four, there was a 13 per cent increase in death by heart attack on the fourth day of the month over what would normally be expected. The other group did not experience any increase.

Even happy emotions can sometimes lead to unusual, even fatal heart rhythms. A famous case concerns a golfer who hit a hole-in-one, turned to his partner and said, “I can die now,” and promptly dropped dead.

It’s comforting to know that these cases are very rare. For most of us, emotions like fear, joy and even sadness play an important role in keeping us alive and healthy. Just keep an eye out for big scary hounds.