Getting divorced or losing a spouse can have major health impacts on postmenopausal women, according to a new study.

Researchers found that stressful life events and insomnia after the menopause can increase a woman’s risk of developing an irregular heartbeat, also known as atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation in turn can increase a person’s risk of developing heart failure or stroke, among other heart conditions.

A team of US researchers tracked 84,000 postmenopausal women with an average age of 64 taking part in a long-term study in the US.

The women were followed up for more than a decade and during this time 24,000 cases of atrial fibrillation were identified.

The new study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, saw researchers compare this information to data on stressful life events, insomnia and depression.

Loss of a loved one; illness; divorce; financial pressure and domestic, verbal, physical or sexual abuse were all deemed to be stressful life events.

The authors found that stressful life events and poor sleep were linked to a significantly higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation.

For each additional point on an insomnia scale, there was a 4% higher likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation, the authors said.

And for each additional point on a stressful life event scale, there was a 2% higher likelihood of having atrial fibrillation.

“In my general cardiology practice, I see many postmenopausal women with picture-perfect physical health who struggle with poor sleep and negative psychological emotional feelings or experience, which we now know may put them at risk for developing atrial fibrillation,” said lead study author Dr Susan Zhao, a cardiologist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Centre in San Jose, California.

“I strongly believe that in addition to age, genetic and other heart-health related risk factors, psychosocial factors are the missing piece to the puzzle of the genesis of atrial fibrillation.”

She added: “The heart and brain connection has been long established in many conditions.

“Atrial fibrillation is a disease of the electrical conduction system and is prone to hormonal changes stemming from stress and poor sleep. These common pathways likely underpin the association between stress and insomnia with atrial fibrillation.”