An Egyptian doctor was killed in fear after she was chased by stray dogs while she was walking in the Hadayek al-Ahram area in Giza Governorate, yesterday, Wednesday, which sparked anger and resentment among the people in the region, and on social media.
According to the preliminary investigations, while the doctor was walking in the street, she was surprised by a number of stray dogs attacking her and surrounding her.
Here an important question arises: Can extreme fear or exposure to a terrifying situation lead to human death?
Dr. Gamal Shaaban, former dean of the Heart Institute in Egypt, answers this question, in statements reported by several Egyptian newspapers and websites, that exposure to a state of intense fear may lead to an imbalance in the heart's electricity and thus death.
Intense and sudden fear affects the electricity of the vagus nerve, the sympathetic nerves and the parasympathetic nerves that regulate the speed of the heartbeat and the force of its contraction, which leads to a sharp slowing of the heartbeat and a drop in blood circulation, which causes a loss of consciousness, and this may lead to death.
Intense fear affects the speed of the heartbeat (Shutterstock)
Scientists say that when a person feels a state of intense fear, his response factors to external stimuli jump sharply, giving him the necessary adrenaline either to resist the aggressor or to escape from his whereabouts.
An adrenaline rush is an involuntary response, controlled by the autonomic nervous system, and is usually accompanied by an elevated heart rate, dilated pupils, and increased blood flow to the muscles.
Increased levels of adrenaline may damage the heart, as it causes calcium channels to open inside the heart, and calcium rushes through them into the heart cells, which causes severe contraction of the heart muscle.
In a state of panic or intense fear, calcium does not stop flowing, and therefore the heart muscles cannot relax, and the so-called irregular heartbeat develops, known as "ventricular fibrillation", which may eventually lead to a severe drop in blood pressure and thus a disturbance in the work of the heart. A heart attack may develop into an acute crisis, which in many cases may lead to death.
As for people who suffer from a weak heart muscle, coronary artery insufficiency, or high blood pressure, intense fear exposes them to heart attack or angina pectoris.