How does a heart "break"?

I've heard one can die of a "broken heart". I've seen those who's hearts have been "broken". I, being still young and carefree, have never had to be subject to that kind of pain, because I haven't given my heart away to someone who just might "break" it. I refuse to lie awake at night for silly reasons that I myself have not come up with on my own- such as why computers work so slowly or what happens to lost things, or even why I can't seem to type the word "almost" without accidentally typing "almsot"- like love and the "breaking" of one's heart.

According to the International Edition of Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary published in 1977, the word "heart" has over 15 definitions (17, to be exact) ranging from anatomic structure, to affections and emotions, to cards. However, the word "heartbreak" has only one:


heart-break (hart'brak') n. Deep grief; over-whelming sorrow. --heart'-breaking adj. & n. --heart'-break'er n.


All of this brings my train of thought back to my original question:

How Does A Heart "Break"?

When asked (by me) how a heart "breaks", a woman in her mid-30's (my mom) replied:

"[Asked as a mother, it would be] loss of a child. As a wife, [it would be] loss of a husband."

When asked (by me) how a heart "breaks", a teenage boy (my brother) replied:

"The loss of someone very important to me."

When asked (by me) how a heart "breaks", a man in his mid-30's (my daddy) replied:

"As a father, it would break my heart to lose one of you guys. As a husband, it would break my heart to lose your mother. As a son, it would break my heart to lose either of my parents."

When asked (by myself) how a heart "breaks", a 13-year-old girl (myself) replied:


"Scientifically speaking, it is not possible to 'break' a heart. However, figuratively speaking, it is. It bothers me to think that in this generation, people so young, in their teenage years and childhood years who have no defenses of the heart, are slowly dying inside of 'broken' hearts. I have seen two hearts broken and, by extension, two lives shattered by 'broken hearts'- before my very eyes in only the past WEEK. And I have thought long and hard about this, only to come to the conclusion that a 'heart' is not what it seems. It is not just a vital organ of the human body, but a complex part of the human mind- a happiness, or a certain joy with the power to kill...

.. figuratively speaking, of course."


What's your theory?