The track was written by Amy Lee, Terry Balsamo, Tim McCord, Will Hunt and Zach Williams, while production was handled by Nick Raskulinecz.

The recording received favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the combination between Lee's vocals and piano playing, as well as its fellow instrumentation; several of them chose it as a highlight on the album.

"My Heart Is Broken" was written by Amy Lee, Terry Balsamo, Tim McCord, Will Hunt and Zach Williams, while production was handled by Nick Raskulinecz.

[3] She further added that the band wrote the single along with "What You Want", with the piano part at the beginning of the track being as well composed on a harp, which Lee considered a slower and easier instrument for her.

[5][6] Chad Grischow of website IGN noticed "cascading piano and grubby march of guitar and stomping drums" in the single's composition, which was similar to the band's older material.

[7] During an interview with Kerrang!, Lee revealed the inspiration of "My Heart Is Broken"; "A good friend of mine heads up an organization in New York that rescues victims of sex trafficking.

"[19] Digital Spy's Lewis Corner labelled the recording as a track to consider downloading, further writing that "'My Heart Is Broken' would strongly beg to differ, with a dashing piano riff skittling over growling guitar strums serving as a backdrop for her emotive alto-soprano.

"[20] Rick Florino of Artistdirect wrote, "On 'My Heart Is Broken', a gorgeous piano intro rises alongside Lee's vibrant vocal delivery as Will Hunt's airtight drumming propels the tune into another realm.

"[22] Chris Willman of Reuters concluded that the song was "bluntly titled",[23] while The Hollywood Reporter's Sophie Schillaci called it a "gut-wrenching" ballad.

[24] Describing the song as "fiery", Chad Grischow of IGN noted that in "My Heart Is Broken", "Lee's siren-esque vocals shine, [and] the band takes a few interesting chances late in the album.

"[25] Billboard magazine's Christa Titus wrote that Lee's voice was "powerful and flexible as ever, as heard in her piercing wails on hit-in-waiting 'My Heart Is Broken'.

"[1] The singer further confessed that the clip draws inspiration from dark fantasy horror film Paperhouse (1988) in order to achieve surreality.

[1] The video commences with Lee lying on a black background while lip-syncing the lyrics of the song, with shots of fellow members and the singer drawing lines with a light in her hand being seen.

The next scene sees the singer playing the piano in a room with a small window, which Lee then touches to break and to illuminate the screen with white light.

[37] In a later-published article, he labelled the clip as "dark, dreamlike thing that pushes Amy Lee's claustrophobic musings to the next level.

[36] While Jason Lipshutz of Billboard saw the music video as "mystical",[35] a writer of Spin wrote, "[The video] features pretty lights and a field of wheat, in addition to the usual Evanescence fare — frontwoman Amy Lee in pale chiffon and corsets, a fantasy world involving lots of wind and unpleasant situations [...] and dreadlock-banging galore.

"[38] HitFix's Melinda Newman compared the lightning scenes of the video to the light displays of United States' Independence Day,[39] further adding that "it's all darkly lit and dramatic and Lee, as usual, looks absolutely stunning and haunted all at the same time.

[40] They later added the song to the set list of their third worldwide tour in support of Evanescence;[24] Sophie Schillaci of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Lee's "high energy and an undeniably fierce vocal style" were best demonstrated during the performance of "My Heart Is Broken".