For some women, a lonely heart may lead to actual heart damage.

A new study has linked feeling forlorn to a nearly 80 percent increase in the risk of heart disease — but only in women.

Other studies have shown that depressed and socially isolated people are at a greater risk for developing heart disease, said the study’s lead author Rebecca C. Thurston, an assistant professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Both of these factors can lead to stress, which can ultimately lead to heart disease. But in a new study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, Thurston found the loneliness link even after accounting for the women’s level of depression and sociability.

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