as if his heart would break

[Klpno]

Hello everyone

Here is a sentence from a book by Charles Eckersley:

The boy, who was crying as if his heart would break, said, when I spoke to him, that he was hungry because he had had no food for two days.

Why is it 'as if his heart would break' and not 'as if his heart was breaking'?

What's the meaning of 'would' here? And is it possible to say "as if his heart was breaking"?

[Mister Micawber]

'Were breaking' might be better than 'was', but that could have been used. Either form is fine here; there is no difference in intent; it is the writer's option, which he probably exercised on the opinion that 2 -ing verbs in a row is not good style (crying, breaking).
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Klpno]

Thank you very much, Mister Micawber!