# Really possible to die from fear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095 "2003-03-21T14:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095/1 "2003-03-21T14:51:27Z")
I’ve been debating about whether a healthy person can die from extreme terror. My WAG is that it’s only likely for people with certain heart conditions, or other medical problems that don’t go too well with stress. But then you do hear about people’s “hearts bursting from fear.” Fiction? Crappy metaphor? Or can the heart literally rupture if driven to a certain point? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095/2 "2003-03-21T14:56:44Z")
Hmmm, this reminds me of a true account of a man who worked for a large R&D Company - thats research and development. It was the end of the day, and he was putting some samples away in the freezer. The door shut behind him, and locked him in. Everyone had left and he was alone. Thinking he would freeze to death he started to panic. He wrote several letters to family and friends, and eventually, dies in the freezer that night. Upon finding him in the morning, the investigaters said that the temperature was only 33 degrees, had he curled up and put his lab coat around him, he would have survived. This man died from fear… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095/3 "2003-03-21T15:26:30Z")
A friend of mine had put off surgery for a debilitating but not life threatening problem. He flat out said he was afraid to have the operation. When he finally agreed, he died of heart failure the night before the surgery. There was nothing in his past or current condition that suggested heart disease. I don’t know if you want to call that dying from fright, but it’s close enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanook_of_the_North_Shore)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095/4 "2003-03-21T15:43:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*Hmmm, this reminds me of a true account of a man who worked for a large R&D Company - thats research and development. > > It was the end of the day, and he was putting some samples away in the freezer. The door shut behind him, and locked him in. Everyone had left and he was alone. Thinking he would freeze to death he started to panic. He wrote several letters to family and friends, and eventually, dies in the freezer that night. > Upon finding him in the morning, the investigaters said that the temperature was only 33 degrees, had he curled up and put his lab coat around him, he would have survived. This man died from fear… \*\* [Ahem.](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/freezer.htm) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095/5 "2003-03-21T17:29:57Z")
[Eddie Izzard] “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” …But I think the gun helps. Just standing there going “Bang!” “Bang!” That’s not gonna kill too many people, is it? You’d have to be really dodgy on the heart to have that happen… [/Eddie Izzard} ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095/6 "2003-03-21T19:17:02Z")
I am inclined to think that if I were in a burning plane going down, I would most likely die of a heart attack caused by terror long before the plane crashed - at least I hope so. I am not a doctor, but I would imagine there is a formula: age + condition of heart + level of fear/stress = death ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-possible-to-die-from-fear/163095/7 "2003-03-21T19:36:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DMark \* > \*\*I am inclined to think that if I were in a burning plane going down, I would most likely die of a heart attack caused by terror long before the plane crashed - at least I hope so. > \*\* I would rather hope as much too… however, I don’t recall much rumor about that on, for example, flight 93. I’d suppose that the levels of adrenaline and other hormones in such a situation would be rather toxic… enough to cause a heart attack in some people, but still not even close to an LD50.