My first true understanding of how deeply the mind can impact the body came during my second year of residency. I was rotating in the ICU when we admitted a middle-aged woman with no prior medical conditions who appeared to be having a heart attack. Her cardiac enzyme levels were alarmingly elevated, and her EKG—a snapshot of her heart’s electrical activity—confirmed it: she was actively having a heart attack.
We moved quickly. Cardiology was consulted, and she was rushed to the cath lab, where we expected to find a blocked coronary artery—the usual culprit. But when she returned, the cardiologist reported something none of us anticipated: her coronary arteries were completely clear. No plaques. No blockages. Nothing.
When the Heart Breaks Without Warning
I was stunned. How could someone show every clinical sign of a heart attack—symptoms, labs, EKG—yet have pristine arteries? Determined to understand, I spent time with her and the cardiologist and came to learn she was suffering from Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome or stress-induced cardiomyopathy (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). It’s a temporary condition where the heart weakens in response to extreme emotional or physical stress.
What triggered it? Just days before, she had buried her daughter.
Her grief, deep and all-consuming, literally overwhelmed her heart. That was the moment I truly understood: your emotions and your thoughts can shape your physical health in real time. That experience still shakes me to this day.
Stress Can Kill—But We Don’t Say It Enough
I always tell my patients: stress can kill. But in medicine, we often brush past this truth. We don’t spend enough time helping patients understand that chronic stress, emotional trauma, and negative mindset patterns can lead to long-term conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune disease—even heart failure (American Psychological Association, 2024).
We talk about food, medications, and numbers… but rarely about emotions, trauma, and thought patterns. And yet, they are often the root of what we see in the exam room.
The Healing Power of Mindset
Over the years, I’ve made it a mission to bring mindset and emotional care into my practice. I sometimes forget just how transformative this is—until a patient tells me, “You changed my life.” Not with a pill, but with presence. With listening. With helping them shift how they see themselves.
Too often, people carry the weight of societal expectations, internalized shame, or a constant pressure to be someone they’re not. These invisible burdens can manifest as very real physical illnesses. And if we never address them, we never fully heal.
You Are More Than Your Labs
I’ve come to believe that proper mindset is the crown jewel of good health (Harvard Health, 2025). It influences how we show up in our bodies, how we respond to stress, how we heal, and whether we even believe healing is possible.
This is the kind of medicine I believe in—one that honors the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. Because yes, your thoughts are prescriptions too.
Sources:
- Cleveland Clinic. (2023). “Broken Heart Syndrome.” https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17857-broken-heart-syndrome.
- American Psychological Association. (2024). “Stress effects on the body.” https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body.
- Harvard Health. (2025). “Mind & Mood.” https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/mind-and-mood.
